title: Hepatitis C virus infection in Iceland: a recently introduced blood-borne disease.
abstract: This study demonstrates a very high prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus among Icelandic intravenous (i.v.) drug users. Of 152 identified i.v. drug users 95 (63%) were shown to have antibodies to the hepatitis C virus. In contrast the seroprevalence in the general Icelandic population is low, (0.2%). Almost all cases of hepatitis C virus infection in Iceland are due to i.v. drug use or to use of infected blood or blood products. Sporadic cases with unexplained modes of transmission, a significant portion of hepatitis C infections elsewhere, are virtually non-existent in Iceland. The results of this study are consistent with the hypothesis that the sporadic community-acquired cases could be caused by blood transfer due to bites from insect vectors such as mosquitoes which are not found in Iceland.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Virology, University of Iceland, Reykjavík.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Löve
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stanzeit
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017848:Blood-Borne Pathogens; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies