A study on the epidemiology of hepatitis C infection among blood donors in Singapore.

BACKGROUND

Hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection has been identified as the main cause of post-transfusion hepatitis (PTH) since 1989. Despite this, little is known regarding the prevalence and mode of transmission of the disease. The purpose of this study was therefore to study the demographic factors associated with HCV infection among Singaporean blood donors.

METHODS

In this study, the screening questionnaire records of HCV-positive donors were analysed. A total of 241 donors, tested positive for HCV between 7 December 1992 and 31 August 1994, were included. Demographic details studied included the age, sex, race, citizenship, occupation and number of previous donations. In additions, the associations of HCV infection with other screened diseases were analysed.

RESULTS

The prevalence of HCV infection was found to be 0.370 per cent (241/65208) among the donors. Of these, 200 (0.389 per cent prevalence) were male and 41 (0.298 per cent prevalence) were female. The mean age was 34.2, SD = 9.4. The prevalence of the disease was found to increase with age. Significant differences were seen among the races (chinese versus Malay, 0.329 percent versus 0.513 percent, p < 0.05). There was also a significant association of HCV with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection among the donors (0.4 percent co-infection versus 0.004 percent in the general donor population, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

The incidence of HCV infections is relatively low among blood donors in Singapore. The differences in prevalence seen among the different groups studied suggest that the disease is community acquired and may be due to the lifestyle of the donors.