title: Epidemiological aspects of hepatitis C virus infection among renal transplant recipients in Central Brazil.
abstract: An investigation was conducted involving 255 renal transplant recipients in the state of Goiás, Central Brazil, to determine the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV), its risk factors, the genotypes involved, and the level of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) present in the patients. All serum samples were tested for anti-HCV antibodies and HCV RNA. Forty-one patients were anti-HCV and/or HCV RNA positive, resulting in an overall HCV infection prevalence of 16.1% (95% CI: 11.9-21.3). A multivariate analysis of risk factors showed that a history of blood transfusions without anti-HCV screening, the length of time spent on hemodialysis, and renal transplantation before 1994 are all associated with HCV positivity. In HCV-positive patients, only 12.2% had ALT levels above normal. Twenty-eight samples were genotyped as genotype 1, subtypes 1a (62.5%) and 1b (31.3%), and two samples (6.2%) were genotype 3, subtype 3a. These data show a high prevalence of HCV infection and low ALT levels in the studied population. The risk factor analysis findings emphasize the importance of public health strategies such as anti-HCV screening of candidate blood and organ donors, in addition to the stricter adoption of hemodialysis-specific infection control measures. The present study also demonstrates that HCV genotype 1 (subtype 1a) is predominant in this population.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Patologia Tropical e Saúde Pública Faculdade de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Brasil.
authors.forename: Sílvia M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Botelho
authors.forename: Renata C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Nádia R S
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Reis
authors.forename: Aline G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Kozlowski
authors.forename: Megmar A S
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Carneiro
authors.forename: Sheila A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Teles
authors.forename: Clara F T
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Regina M B
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Martins
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000601:surgery; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral; D000410:Alanine Transaminase