Prevalence of anti-hepatitis C virus in the blood donor population of Rio de Janeiro.
The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies in 2,557 asymptomatic volunteer Brazilian blood donors is reported. Using the line immunoassay (Inno-LIA) as a confirmatory test on ELISA anti-HCV-positive reacting sera, a prevalence rate of 2.7% for anti-HCV positivity was found. By comparison, prevalences of 1.6% for hepatitis B surface antigen, 0.9% for Treponema pallidum, 0.4% for human immunodeficiency virus and 0.04% for Trypanosoma cruzi were observed. Only 57% of the HCV-positive donors had elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. Using previous criteria, based on surrogate markers (ALT > or = 50 IU/l and for anti-hepatitis B core antibody), for HCV infection at that time, only 25% of the HCV-positive donations would have been eliminated. In view of the high prevalence of anti-HCV reactivity among the Brazilian blood donor population and the poor reliability of surrogate markers, it is recommended that routine screening for anti-HCV in Brazilian blood donors is introduced.
Vanderborght
B O
BO
Innogenetics, Ghent, Belgium.
Reis
A M
AM
Rouzere
C D
CD
da Silva
R S
RS
Yoshida
C F
CF
Franco
L G
LG
Maertens
G
G
Van Heuverswijn
H
H
Moreira Pereira
J
J
D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001782:Blood Donors; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012698:Serologic Tests
D015415:Biomarkers; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D000410:Alanine Transaminase