title: Hepatitis C seroprevalence and correlation between viral load and viral genotype among primary care clients in Mexico.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To measure hepatitis C virus (HCV) sero-prevalence, prevalence, hepatitis risk characteristics frequency, and genotype correlation with viral load among clients attending health care clinics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Venous blood samples from l12 226 consecutive consenting adults were collected from January 2006 through December 2009. HCV antibodies were detected by immunoassay. HCV RNA was detected by qRT-PCR and viral genotype was performed by PCR and LIPA test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The HCV seroprevalence observed was l.5 % (C.I. 95% l.3-l.7), from seropositive individuals 60.9 % reported previous blood transfusion, 28.3% declared to have relatives with cirrhosis, 25.2% had tattoos or piercings, and 6.9% referred to have used drugs. Male gender and transfusion (p<0.001) were the most frequent hepatitis risk characteristics in the HCV seropositive group. Among seropositive subjects 48.3% presented HCV RNA.The most frequent genotype detected in all geographic areas of Mexico was l (subtype lA, 33%; subtype lB, 21.4%) followed by genotype 2 (subtype 2A, 8.50%). Subjects with genotype 1 had a significant correlation with the highest viral load.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results show that nearly half of seropositive individuals are chronically infected. HCV infection has been shown in this study to be an emerging health problem in Mexico.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
authors.forename: Ana I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Burguete-García
authors.forename: Carlos J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Conde-González
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jiménez-Méndez
authors.forename: Yanet
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Juárez-Díaz
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Meda-Monzón
authors.forename: Kirvis
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Torres-Poveda
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Madrid-Marina
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D046288:Body Piercing / Q000009:adverse effects; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000453:epidemiology; D013653:Tattooing / Q000009:adverse effects; D065227:Transfusion Reaction; D047568:Unsafe Sex; D019562:Viral Load; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral