Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
J Trop Med. 2011;2011:598341. doi: 10.1155/2011/598341. Epub 2011 Aug 9.
The emergence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and its associated sequelae in Africa is a cause for significant concern. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive patients are at an increased risk of contracting HCV infection due to similar risk factors and modes of transmission. We investigated the seroprevalence of hepatitis C in hospitalized HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients in Mulago Hospital, an academic hospital in Uganda. Blood samples were first tested for HCV antibodies, and positive tests were confirmed with HCV RNA PCR. We enrolled five hundred patients, half HIV-positive and half HIV negative. Overall, 13/500 patients (2.6%) tested positive for HCV antibodies. There was no difference in HCV antibody detection among HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients. Out of all risk factors examined, only an age greater than 50 years was associated with HCV infection. Traditional risk factors for concurrent HIV and HCV transmission, such as intravenous drug use, were exceedingly rare in Uganda. Only 3 of 13 patients with detectable HCV antibodies were confirmed by HCV RNA detection. This result concurs with recent studies noting poor performance of HCV antibody testing when using African sera. These tests should be validated in the local population before implementation.
丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）在非洲的出现及其相关后遗症令人严重关切。由于存在相似的风险因素和传播途径，人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）阳性患者感染丙型肝炎病毒的风险增加。我们调查了乌干达学术医院穆拉戈医院住院的 HIV 阳性和 HIV 阴性患者中丙型肝炎的血清流行率。首先对血液样本进行 HCV 抗体检测，阳性检测结果用 HCV RNA PCR 进行确认。我们共招募了 500 名患者，其中一半 HIV 阳性，一半 HIV 阴性。总体而言，有 13/500 名患者（2.6%）的 HCV 抗体检测呈阳性。HIV 阳性和 HIV 阴性患者的 HCV 抗体检测结果无差异。在所检查的所有危险因素中，只有年龄大于 50 岁与 HCV 感染相关。在乌干达，静脉吸毒等同时传播 HIV 和 HCV 的传统危险因素极为罕见。在 13 名可检测到 HCV 抗体的患者中，只有 3 名通过 HCV RNA 检测得到确认。这一结果与最近的研究结果一致，即使用非洲血清时，丙型肝炎病毒抗体检测的性能不佳。在实施之前，应在当地人群中对这些检测进行验证。
