title: The seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) among 559,890 first-time volunteer blood donors in China reflects regional heterogeneity in HCV prevalence and changes in blood donor recruitment models.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A decrease in the prevalence of hepatitis C virus antibody (anti-HCV) has been reported among voluntary blood donors in some regions of China. However, the prevalence of HCV among volunteer blood donors in other regions of China has not been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of HCV among 559,890 first-time volunteer blood donors recruited during 2004 through 2007 at the Guangzhou Blood Center, China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Anti-HCV was detected using two different third-generation enzyme immunoassay kits. HCV RNA was detected using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) targeting the 5'-untranslated region of HCV.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 559,890 donors, 1877 (0.335%) were positive for anti-HCV. The anti-HCV+ rate was significantly higher in males than females (0.37% vs. 0.28%; p < 0.001) and significantly lower among donors living in Guangdong Province than donors who had migrated from other locations (0.30% vs. 0.40%; p < 0.001). Among the 1877 anti-HCV+ donors, 450 were randomly selected for HCV nucleic acid amplification by RT-PCR. Of these, 270 (60%) were HCV RNA+ and 180 (40%) were HCV RNA-.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Many donors from outside Guangdong Province were migrant laborers from other areas in China, suggesting that there is regional heterogenicity in HCV prevalence within China. The overall anti-HCV+ rate reported here is among the lowest reported among blood donors in China reflecting the effect of the current recruitment of exclusively volunteer donors.
authors.affiliation: Guangzhou Blood Center and the Laboratory of Integrated Biosciences, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Yongshui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Wenjie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Yizhong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Linwei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Oliver G
authors.initials: OG
authors.lastname: Pybus
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Kenrad
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nelson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001782:Blood Donors; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral
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