title: Hepatitis B and C in Juba, southern Sudan: results of a serosurvey.
abstract: To compare the epidemiology of hepatitis B virus (HBV) with hepatitis C virus (HCV) in a southern Sudanese population, 666 out-patients attending 6 public clinics in the city of Juba were enrolled in a serosurvey. The average age of subjects was 16 years; 54% were female. Of the 651 samples tested for hepatitis B markers, HBsAg was found in 26% and anti-HBc in 67%. In contrast, only 21 (3%) of the 666 samples were positive for anti-HCV using a second generation immunoblot assay (RIBA-2). Seventeen (81%) of the 21 anti-HCV-positive subjects were positive for anti-HBc, compared to 66% (418/630) of subjects negative for anti-HCV (P = 0.07). None of the anti-HCV-positive subjects reported receiving a prior blood transfusion and only 5 subjects reported a history of jaundice. Nine of the 21 (43%) anti-HCV-positive subjects reported a history of scarification, compared to 23% (148/645) of anti-HCV-negative subjects (P = 0.01). Hepatitis B infection was also associated with scarification by univariate analysis. However, after adjustment for age a history of scarification was not significantly associated with hepatitis C infection, but it was with HBV infection (odds ratio = 1.5, 95% CI 1.0-2.5; P = 0.05). The findings of this study indicate that HCV infection is not highly endemic in this population and that the epidemiology of HCV differs from that of HBV.
authors.affiliation: US Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: el-Tigani
authors.forename: I O
authors.initials: IO
authors.lastname: Khalid
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Hyams
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013397:Sudan / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens