title: Prevalence of HCV among the high risk groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
abstract: Hepatitis C is an infectious disease, caused by blood borne pathogen; the Hepatitis C Virus. In this study we analyzed blood samples collected from various risk groups for the prevalence of anti-HCV and active HCV infection with the help of Immunochromtographic tests and nested PCR. The prevalence of active HCV infection among the high risk groups was 15.57% (26/167). The prevalence of HCV in individual risk groups was 15%, 28%, 8%, 14.28% and 14.28% in the case of thalassemics, dialysis, major surgery group, dental surgery group and injection drug users respectively. Our analysis reveals the fact that health care facilities in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan are contributing a great deal towards the spread of HCV infection.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University, Peshawar, Pakistan. Laila_28@ymail.com
authors.forename: Ijaz
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: Lubna
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Siddique
authors.forename: Latif U
authors.initials: LU
authors.lastname: Rehman
authors.forename: Najib U
authors.initials: NU
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Aqib
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iqbal
authors.forename: Iqbal
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Munir
authors.forename: Farzana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rashid
authors.forename: Sana U
authors.initials: SU
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Safira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Attache
authors.forename: Zahoor A
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Swati
authors.forename: Mehwish S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Aslam
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral