Department of Microbiology, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Pakistan.
Virol J. 2013 Mar 13;10:83. doi: 10.1186/1743-422X-10-83.
Hepatitis C, caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a contagious disease of the liver which infects more than 170 million people world-wide and around 16 million in Pakistan. HCV associated infection spreads mainly by blood-to-blood contact. In recent years, many studies have been conducted to determine the prevalence of HCV infection in Pakistan; however, no data is available on HCV infection from the largest province of Pakistan. Therefore, the present study focuses on the prevalence of HCV infection in the young male blood donor population of Quetta region of Balochistan, Pakistan.
A total of 356 blood samples were collected from blood donors (age range 17-25 years) at Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. Blood samples were screened for HCV positivity by Immunochromatographic test (ICT) and Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay (ELISA).
Out of 356 blood samples, the overall HCV prevalence was 20.8%. Among the HCV positive cases, the age group with 25 years was more frequently infected with a prevalence of 26.3%.
The present study provides the preliminary information about high HCV prevalence among the young male donor population in Balochistan province. This data may be helpful in formulating public health strategy for the prevention of risk factors associated with spreading of the disease. Furthermore, we recommend that in public sector hospitals and health care units ELISA should be preferred for anti-HCV detection over ICT.
丙型肝炎是由丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）引起的肝脏传染病，全球有超过 1.7 亿人感染，巴基斯坦约有 1600 万人感染。HCV 相关感染主要通过血液接触传播。近年来，许多研究都致力于确定巴基斯坦 HCV 感染的流行率；然而，巴基斯坦最大省份尚无 HCV 感染的数据。因此，本研究重点关注巴基斯坦俾路支省奎达地区年轻男性献血者人群中 HCV 感染的流行率。
在巴基斯坦俾路支省奎达的联合军事医院（CMH），共采集了 356 名年龄在 17-25 岁之间的献血者的血液样本。采用免疫层析试验（ICT）和酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）检测血液样本的 HCV 阳性情况。
在 356 份血液样本中，HCV 的总体流行率为 20.8%。在 HCV 阳性病例中，25 岁年龄组的感染率较高，为 26.3%。
本研究提供了俾路支省年轻男性献血者人群中 HCV 高流行率的初步信息。这些数据可能有助于制定预防与疾病传播相关的危险因素的公共卫生策略。此外，我们建议在公立医院和医疗机构中，ELISA 应优先于 ICT 用于抗-HCV 检测。
