The prevalence of anti-HCV positivity in patients undergoing haemodialysis or with malignant disease.

We studied the occurrence of anti-hepatitis C (HCV) antibodies in patients with malignant disease (53), in patients undergoing haemodialysis (56), and in blood donors (204) as healthy population controls. The study was carried out using the second-generation EIA test. Anti-HCV positivity was 23.2% in haemodialysis (HD) patients, 0.5% in blood donors, and 0% of the patients with malignant disease (MD). There was no association between anti-HCV positivity and the results of AST, ALT and HBsAg tests in patients and controls. But there was significant association of blood transfusion frequency and duration of HD with anti-HCV positivity in patients undergoing HD, and conversely an absence of this association in patients with MD. However, two of the anti-HCV-positive HD patients did not have any blood transfusion history. One HCV-positive blood donor had a history of surgical operation. Nosocomial transmission of HCV infection has replaced blood transfusion as the main risk factor in HD patients, and preventive measures should be performed in this direction to control infection.