title: Hepatitis C virus infection in chronic liver disease in Somalia.
abstract: To assess the role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in liver disease in Somalia, antibody to HCV (anti-HCV) was studied by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) in 110 patients with chronic liver diseases, in 309 healthy adults, in 179 institutionalized subjects with a high prevalence of intestinal parasites and Schistosoma haematobium, and in 287 children with diseases other than hepatitis. According to the RIBA test, anti-HCV was present in three healthy adults (0.97%), in four institutionalized individuals (2.2%), but in none of the children. The prevalence of anti-HCV was 4.8% in patients with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive chronic liver diseases and 20.6% in patients with HBsAg-negative chronic liver diseases. Thus, HCV infection appears to play a minor role in HBsAg-positive liver disease in Somalia but may be an important factor in HBsAg-negative chronic liver disease. The low anti-HCV prevalence in individuals with no hepatic disorders is consistent with the fact that HCV does not spread by nonpercutaneous transfer. We found also a large proportion of both patients with hepatic disease and institutionalized individuals who tested positive by ELISA but not confirmed by RIBA. However, the likelihood of a true positive result increases proportionally with the ELISA value; thus, in most cases a low ELISA value probably represents a false-positive reaction, while a high ELISA value probably represents a true positive reaction.
authors.affiliation: Institute of the Clinic of Tropical and Infectious Disease, La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aceti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Taliani
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bruni
authors.forename: O S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Sharif
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Moallin
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Celestino
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Quaranta
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sebastiani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007223:Infant; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012998:Somalia / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies