ABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of anti-HCV antibody (Ab) in association with specific markers for hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV). We investigated 127 children from two orphanages from Iasi District (77 males--60.6%). An ELISA kit, IInd generation (Diagnostic Pasteur) was used for anti-HCV determination. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HAV/total antibodies were diagnosed by ELISA competitive and "sandwich" type respectively (Wellcome-Murex). 16.8% from all children was "repeated reactive" for anti-HCV Ab test; majority of them (88.9%) had a positive result for anti-HAV/total Ab and 30.7% were "carriers" for HBsAg. IN CONCLUSION: (1) the prevalence of anti-HCV Ab is more than 3 fold, comparative with the 4.5% value from blood donors in our region; (2) the high level for HBsAg as marker for an HBV infection requires to test the children's liver function to select and monitor them for IFN treatment purposes; (3) for HAV, which is never involved in chronic infection, even if the vaccination is now available, the cost/benefit ration, suggests that the unspecific prevention methods still keep their value.
