Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in urban children.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in children with an unknown or negative human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status attending an urban hospital pediatric primary care clinic, and to identify HCV risk factors in their mothers.


METHODS
This was a cross-sectional study of 1034 children tested for HCV antibodies (anti-HCV) after excluding children known to be HIV-positive. We assessed maternal HCV risk factors through structured interviews with a sample of mothers (n=573) and through review of available medical records (n=347) for a subsample of mother-child pairs. Means, proportions, and 95% confidence intervals were used to estimate the prevalence of anti-HCV and maternal risk factors.


RESULTS
One child (0.1%; 95% CI, 0.002, 0.5) was anti-HCV positive. History of blood transfusion was reported by 7% of mothers and intravenous drug use (IVDU) by 1.8%. A subsample of mothers significantly underreported IVDU when compared with medical record review (1.5% vs 7.8%, P<.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that universal screening of children for HCV in high-risk urban communities is not warranted. However, self-report may not be reliable for identifying mothers with a history of IVDU, for whom HCV testing is recommended.
El-Kamary
Samer S
SS
Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. selkama@jhmi.edu
Serwint
Janet R
JR
Joffe
Alain
A
Santosham
Mathuram
M
Duggan
Anne K
AK
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000453:epidemiology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D013587:Syphilis / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies