title: Hepatitis C virus infection among Brazilian hemophiliacs: a virological, clinical and epidemiological study.
abstract: We determined and analyzed risk factors of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected Brazilian hemophiliacs according to their virological, clinical and epidemiological characteristics. A cross-sectional and retrospective study of 469 hemophiliacs was carried out at a Brazilian blood center starting in October 1997. The prevalence of HCV infection, HCV genotypes and factors associated with HCV RNA detection was determined. The seroprevalence of anti-HCV antibodies (ELISA-3.0) was 44.6% (209/469). Virological, clinical and epidemiological assessments were completed for 162 positive patients. There were seven (4.3%) anti-HCV seroconversions between October 1992 and October 1997. During the same period, 40.8% of the positive anti-HCV hemophiliacs had abnormal alanine transaminase (ALT) levels. Plasma HCV RNA was detected by nested-RT-PCR in 116 patients (71.6%). RFLP analysis showed the following genotype distribution: HCV-1 in 98 hemophiliacs (84.5%), HCV-3 in ten (8.6%), HCV-4 in three (2.6%), HCV-2 in one (0.9%), and not typeable in four cases (3.4%). Univariate analysis indicated that older age (P = 0.017) and abnormal ALT levels (P = 0.010) were associated with HCV viremia, while the presence of inhibitor antibodies (P = 0.024) and HBsAg (P = 0.007) represented a protective factor against the presence of HCV RNA. These findings may contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between HCV infection and hemophilia.
authors.affiliation: Fundação Hemominas, Alameda Ezequiel Dias 321, 30130-110 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. ricarmo@net.em.com.br
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Carmo
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: M D C
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Buzek
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Corrêa-Oliveira
authors.forename: M O C
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Rocha
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005838:Genotype; D006467:Hemophilia A / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral