ABSTRACT
The association of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and the hepatosplenic form of schistosomiasis mansoni (SM) has been claimed to result in the concomitant evolution o the two pathologies, with a poor prognosis due to aggravated liver disease. Recently, however, some authors have begun to reject the hypothesis of a higher susceptibility of hepatosplenic schistosomal patients to HCV. The aim of the present transverse study carried out between July and August 1990 was to determine the possible association between SM and HCV markers in residents of CatoLândia, in the state of Bahia, Brazil. Anti-HCV markers were assayed by ELISA-II and RIB-II in serum samples obtained from 1,228 residents (85.8 por cento).The anti-HCV antibody (ELISA II) was positive in six (0,5por cento) individuals, eight (0.6por cento) cases were inconclusive, and 1,214(98.9por cento) were negative. However, only in one ELISA-positive serum sample (0.08por cento) were antibodies confirmed by /RIBA-II, while two other samples assayed by RIBA-II were indeterminate. These three patients presented the hepatointestinal form of SM during the follow-up period (1976 to 1996),In conclusion, no association was observed between HCV and SM in the endemic area studied especially among patients with the hepatosplenic form of the disease