title: Hepatitis C infection among pregnant women in British Columbia: reported prevalence and critical appraisal of current prenatal screening methods.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite the fact that hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a relatively common infection in Canada, particularly in British Columbia (BC), there is a paucity of information on actual HCV prevalence in pregnant women. At present, pregnant women are only screened if they fit risk criteria, which may result in under-identification of HCV in this population. The purpose of this study was to determine the overall prevalence rate, age and geographic distribution of reported HCV infection among pregnant women in BC, and compare results to a previously conducted anonymous seroprevalence survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Reported HCV prevalence was determined through a confidential database linkage of all prenatal screening results at the Canadian Blood Services (CBS) with all HCV test results at the Provincial Laboratory, from May 2000 to Oct 2002. Data were stratified by age group and geographic location, and subsequently compared to an anonymous prenatal seroprevalence survey conducted in 1994.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall HCV prevalence rate was 50.3/10,000 (95% CI 46.3-54.6), or 0.5% of the cohort. Prevalence was highest in the northern BC region (66.2/10,000, 95% CI 51.4-85.3) and lowest in the populous suburban region southwest of Vancouver (38.0/10,000, 95% CI 32.3-44.8). Of note, the rate of reported HCV among pregnant women was significantly lower than the anonymous seroprevalence rate: 50.3/10,000 vs. 91.3/10,000 (p < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Rates of reported HCV among pregnant women were approximately 50% lower than the rates determined by the anonymous seroprevalence survey. Further research is needed to determine the relative merits of the current selective screening policy versus universal prenatal HCV screening in pregnancy.
authors: School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.
authors: Audrey
authors: A
authors: Blasig
authors: Emily C
authors: EC
authors: Wagner
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Pi
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Bigham
authors: Valencia P
authors: VP
authors: Remple
authors: Kevin J P
authors: KJ
authors: Craib
authors: Patrick
authors: P
authors: Doyle
authors: Simon
authors: S
authors: Dobson
authors: Eric M
authors: EM
authors: Yoshida
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Patrick
authors: Mel
authors: M
authors: Krajden
authors: Deborah M
authors: DM
authors: Money
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