Khamis Hossam Hassan, Farghaly Azza Galal, Shatat Hanan Zakaria, El-Ghitany Engy Mohamed
Resident Physician, Alexandria fever hospital, Alexandria, Egypt
Professor, Tropical Health Department, Tropical Health High Institute of Public Health, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt.
Trop Doct. 2016 Jan;46(1):21-7. doi: 10.1177/0049475514561330. Epub 2014 Dec 15.
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.
To determine the seroprevalence of HCV antibodies (HCV-Ab) and risk factors associated with infection among pregnant women in Egypt.
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.
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.
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.
埃及是世界上丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）感染率最高的国家。与许多其他国家相比，埃及在孕期对HCV的筛查并不像常规那样进行，尽管孕期是筛查HCV感染的重要时期，因为孕期免疫力低下，存在垂直传播的可能性，以及后期可能会发生水平传播给婴儿或其他家庭接触者。
确定埃及孕妇中HCV抗体（HCV-Ab）的血清流行率以及与感染相关的危险因素。
对总共360名到医疗机构进行常规产前检查的孕妇，采用第三代酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）检测HCV-Ab。对血清学阳性病例进行聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测。
共有6.1%（22/360）的孕妇HCV血清学阳性；其中只有45%（9/20）有病毒血症。危险因素包括她们的年龄、丈夫的年龄以及丈夫患有慢性肝病。
埃及孕妇中HCV感染率似乎低于先前报道。检测到的危险因素是孕妇及其丈夫的年龄较大，以及丈夫患有慢性肝病。未发现其他已知危险因素与孕妇HCV感染有显著关联。
