title: Hepatitis C virus antibodies in dialysis patients in Tunisia: a single center study.
abstract: Fifty-eight patients on maintenance hemodialysis in a dialysis unit at Tunis, Tunisia were tested for anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) antibodies by second generation ELISA test, and for HCV-RNA by nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of 5' non-coding region. Specificity of the antibodies was confirmed by immunoblot test. HCV genotype was defined using INNO-LIPA test. Twenty-seven out of 58 patients (46.5%) were reactive by ELISA. Transaminase levels were assessed over a six-month period and showed normal average values. Fourteen of the 27 anti-HCV positive patients (51%) were positive by RT-PCR. Type 1b HCV genotype was the most prevalent, seen in all the dialysis patients and one patient in addition, was co-infected with genotype 4. There was a significant correlation between the duration on dialysis (over five years) and the prevalence of anti-HCV-positive patients (P< 0.005) while no correlation existed between the number of blood transfusions and the presence of anti-HCV antibodies. The present study illustrates the high prevalence of HCV infection among Tunisian dialysis patients (51%) and indicates that the spread may be nosocomial rather than transfusion-related.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'immunologie, Hôpital Charles Nicolle, Tunisia.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sassi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gorgi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ayed
authors.forename: T B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Abdallah
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lamouchi
authors.forename: H B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Maiz