title: Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among pregnant women in a rural district in Egypt.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Egypt has the highest prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the world. Screening of HCV during pregnancy is not as routinely done in Egypt compared with many other countries, although pregnancy is an important period where screening of HCV infection is important owing to low immunity, the possibility of vertical transmission and possible horizontal transmission to the baby or other household contacts at a later stage.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the seroprevalence of HCV antibodies (HCV-Ab) and risk factors associated with infection among pregnant women in Egypt.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 360 pregnant women visiting the healthcare units for routine antenatal care were tested using third generation ELISA test for detection of HCV-Ab. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was done for seropositive cases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 6.1% (22/360) of pregnant women were HCV seropositive; of them only 45% (9/20) had viraemia. Risk factors were their age, the age of their husband and the presence of chronic liver disease in the husband.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of HCV infection in pregnant women in Egypt appears to be lower than previously reported. The detected risk factors are old age of the pregnant women and their husbands, and chronic liver disease in the husbands. None of the other known risk factors was found to be significantly associated with HCV infection in pregnant women.
authors.affiliation: Resident Physician, Alexandria fever hospital, Alexandria, Egypt hossam.khamis84@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hossam Hassan
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Khamis
authors.affiliation: Professor, Tropical Health Department, Tropical Health High Institute of Public Health, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Azza Galal
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Farghaly
authors.affiliation: Professor, Tropical Health Department of Tropical Health, High Institute of Public Health, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Hanan Zakaria
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Shatat
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Tropical Health Department, Tropical Health High Institute of Public Health, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Engy Mohamed
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: El-Ghitany
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical / Q000517:prevention & control; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies
keywords: Egypt; HCV; pregnant women; prevalence; risk factors; rural