Department of Microbiology, Jinnah University for Women, Karachi.
Libyan J Med. 2008 Jun 1;3(2):66-70. doi: 10.4176/071123.
Although the prevalence of hepatitis virus infections in Pakistan is still unknown, limited data indicate that the exposure rate to HBV is 35-38% with 4% being carriers and 32% having anti-HBV surface antibodies through natural conversion [1, 2, 3]. Studies in Pakistan have shown that the prevalence rate of HCV is 4.8-14% for, and that it is continuously increasing. Hence there is an urgent need to create awareness about the prevalence of both hepatitis B and C, and to develop preventive measures aimed at minimizing the prevalence of these diseases in the country.
Prospective, descriptive study. The study took place from March 2002 till October 2006 at two university campuses in Karachi.
A total of 4000 healthy female students were screened for HBs Ag, anti-HBs antibodies and anti-HCV antibodies by rapid immunochromatography, ELISA and PCR.
A total of 3820 volunteers (95.5%) were negative by all three methods, 181 (4.5%) tested positive for HB surface antigen and 20 (0.5%) were positive for anti HB surface antibodies; 208 volunteers (5.2%) were positive for HCV. Double infection with HBV and HCV was found in only one patient (0.025%). Out of 180 HBs antigen positive samples 151 (83.89%) were genotype D, 28 (15.56%) showed mixed infection with genotypes B and D, and one patient (0.56%) showed mixed infection with genotypes C and D. Out of 208 samples positive for HCV antibodies, 107 (51.44%) were genotype 3a, 50 (24.04%) were mix of genotype 3a and 3b, 33 (15.87%) were genotype 3b, 10 (4.81%) were genotype 1b while, 8 (3.84%) samples could not be typed.
Although the presence of these pathogenic viruses was not very high in our young healthy female population, it is still a matter of concern to control the unregulated spread of these deadly infections by promoting increased awareness and regular immunization programs in the community. Local manufacturing of vaccines and related products may reduce these infections.
尽管巴基斯坦的肝炎病毒感染率仍不清楚，但有限的数据表明，HBV 的暴露率为 35-38%，其中 4%为携带者，32%通过自然转化产生抗 HBV 表面抗体[1,2,3]。巴基斯坦的研究表明，HCV 的流行率为 4.8-14%，且呈持续上升趋势。因此，迫切需要提高人们对乙型肝炎和丙型肝炎流行率的认识，并制定旨在最大限度减少这些疾病在该国流行的预防措施。
前瞻性描述性研究。该研究于 2002 年 3 月至 2006 年 10 月在卡拉奇的两个大学校园进行。
采用快速免疫层析法、ELISA 和 PCR 法对 4000 名健康女学生进行 HBsAg、抗-HBs 抗体和抗-HCV 抗体筛查。
共有 3820 名志愿者（95.5%）三种方法均为阴性，181 名（4.5%）HBs 表面抗原阳性，20 名（0.5%）抗-HBs 表面抗体阳性；208 名（5.2%）HCV 阳性。仅发现 1 例（0.025%）同时感染乙型肝炎病毒和丙型肝炎病毒。在 180 份 HBsAg 阳性样本中，151 份（83.89%）为基因型 D，28 份（15.56%）为基因型 B 和 D 混合感染，1 份（0.56%）为基因型 C 和 D 混合感染。在 208 份抗 HCV 抗体阳性样本中，107 份（51.44%）为基因型 3a，50 份（24.04%）为基因型 3a 和 3b 混合感染，33 份（15.87%）为基因型 3b，10 份（4.81%）为基因型 1b，8 份（3.84%）样本无法分型。
尽管在我们年轻健康的女性人群中，这些致病病毒的存在率并不高，但通过在社区中提高认识和定期开展免疫接种计划来控制这些致命感染的不受控制传播，仍然令人关切。疫苗和相关产品的本地生产可能会降低这些感染的发生率。
