Antibody to hepatitis C virus in volunteer blood donors of the Hospital de Especialidades, National Medical Center, Mexico City

The present survey was performed to assess the hepatitis C virus seroprevalence in volunteer blood donors of the National Medical Center, Hospital de Especialidades, Mexico City. Serum samples from 1100 individuals were collected. We selected second generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Abbot HCV EIA) test for the screening. The antibodies against hepatitis C virus (anti-HVC) in the volunteer blood donors were positive in 0.7 per cent. The second generation ELISA test is useful as a screening test and may lead to decreasing the incidence of posttranfusional hepatitis C virus infection