title: Low prevalence of antibody to hepatitis C virus in north east England.
abstract: The prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) was studied in North East England in blood donors, local multiply transfused patients, local high risk individuals, and chronic liver disease patients. Anti-HCV was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 2/1120 (0.18%) blood donors; 1/84 chronic renal failure patients on haemodialysis who had received 1,992 units of blood (seroconversion rate of 0.05% per unit transfused), 1/207 cardiac patients 6 months post cardiac surgery transfused with 1,403 units of blood (1 anti-HCV pre-operatively, seroconversion rate 0.07%), 40/50 haemophilia A patients treated with commercial factor VIII, and 38/100 intravenous drug users. In addition anti-HCV was detected by ELISA in 5/35 cryptogenic chronic liver disease patients, 5/5 confirmed by recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) (14%); 3/30 patients with autoimmune chronic active hepatitis, 2/3 by RIBA (7%); 2/50 primary biliary cirrhosis patients, 1/2 by RIBA (2%); 0/30 alcoholic cirrhosis patients; and 2/9 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, 1/2 by RIBA (11%). HCV is uncommon in North East England; it may be implicated in the aetiology of a minority of cases of cryptogenic liver disease and less than 5% of autoimmune chronic active hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Medical School, Newcastle General Hospital, England.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Brind
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Codd
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: F G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Gabriel
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: O F
authors.initials: OF
authors.lastname: James
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Bassendine
mesh_terms: D005169:Factor VIII / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006467:Hemophilia A / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous; D065227:Transfusion Reaction; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D005169:Factor VIII