Hepatitis C among blood donors in Jakarta.

ABSTRACT

One type of non-A non-B hepatitis (NANBH) is caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV), and is mostly transmitted through blood transfusion or its components. The prevalence of NANBH among post transfusion hepatitis (PTH) in Western countries is around 90-95%. After Chiron had identified the viral protein which caused parenteral NANBH or HCV, it became possible to detect the antibody for HCV as a sign of its transmission. In Indonesia, the usage of blood and its components gradually increased every year. Since 1985, all blood components from the Indonesian Red Cross were screened against hepatitis B virus (HBV), and it was found that most of the post-transfusion hepatitis were caused by HCV. In this study, the prevalence of the HCV antibody in blood donors was 3 out of 193 (1.6%) using the ELISA method (Ortho).