title: A pilot study of the prevalence of hepatitis C virus antibodies and hepatitis C virus RNA in southern Cameroon.
abstract: Information is lacking on the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in most African countries. An algorithm based on a combination of enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) with different formats (a commercial test, an HCV antibody [Ab] III test, and an HCV core Ab EIA) was used to estimate the prevalence of HCV infection in different population groups from southern Cameroon. An overall high prevalence was observed, with a significant increasing trend for both sexes with respect to age. A high proportion (67.4%) of HCV-positive sera were viremic as demonstrated by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. We conclude that the prevalence of HCV is high in southern Cameroon and increases linearly with age.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infection and Immunity, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Nkengasong
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: De Beenhouwer
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Claeys
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nyambi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ayuk
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: van der Groen
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ndumbe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000465:Algorithms; D002163:Cameroon / Q000453:epidemiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral