ABSTRACT
In order to study the asymptomatic hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive blood donors in Israel we analyzed their sera for HCV-RNA using the polymerase chain reaction technique. We found that 0.44% of blood donors were anti-HCV positive. Of those who had repeatedly positive anti-HCV, 82% had evidence of HCV-RNA. One-third of them had elevated liver enzymes, but no detectable cryoglobulins were found in their sera. Although HCV-RNA was detected in the majority of the patients, we were unable to demonstrate vertical or horizontal transmission among the family members of our carrier population.
Subject(s)
Blood Donors , Carrier State/epidemiology , Cryoglobulinemia/complications , Hepatitis C/complications , Liver Diseases/complications , Adult , Aged , Base Sequence , Carrier State/transmission , Cryoglobulinemia/epidemiology , Female , Hepacivirus , Hepatitis C/epidemiology , Hepatitis C/transmission , Humans , Israel/epidemiology , Liver Diseases/epidemiology , Male , Middle Aged , Molecular Sequence Data , Prevalence , RNA, Viral , Seroepidemiologic StudiesSubject(s)
Hepatitis B/prevention & control , Thalassemia/complications , Viral Hepatitis Vaccines/immunology , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Child, Preschool , Hepatitis B/immunology , Hepatitis B Antibodies/biosynthesis , Hepatitis B Vaccines , Humans , Splenectomy , Thalassemia/surgery , VaccinationABSTRACT
In a prospective study of 50 recipients of HBsAg-negative blood who had undergone cardiac surgery, 4 (8%) developed acute non-A, non-B hepatitis. The patients who developed hepatitis had received significantly more units of blood or blood products than the patients who had no hepatitis. The incubation period of the disease was 4-13 weeks, 3 patients were asymptomatic with peak alaminotransferase (ALT) levels of 320-497 U/1 and 1 patient was jaundiced with a peak ALT of 3,400 U/1. 1 of the patients had high ALT levels after 21 weeks of observation, while 3 patients recovered after 7-10 weeks. It is concluded that non-A, non-B posttransfusion hepatitis in Israel is a medical problem similar to that in the USA and that the clinical picture of the disease varies from a mild asymptomatic to a symptomatic and protracted course.
Subject(s)
Cardiovascular Diseases/surgery , Hepatitis C/etiology , Hepatitis, Viral, Human/etiology , Transfusion Reaction , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Prospective Studies , RiskABSTRACT
An analysis of the etiology of acute viral hepatitis in 172 hospitalized patients showed that 70.9% suffered from hepatitis A (HA), 12.2% from hepatitis B (HB), 1.7% from infectious mononucleosis and 15.1% (26 cases) from non-A, non-B hepatitis. Patients who had received blood transfusions during the 6 mo preceding the onset of the disease were not included in the present survey. The male:female ratio in the patients with non-A, non-B hepatitis was 1:88; 73% were Ashkenazic and 27% non-Ashkenazic Jews. The ethnic distribution of patients with non-A, non-B hepatitis was similar to that of patients with HA but differed from that of HB patients (only 41% Ashkenazic). Thirty-eight percent of the non-A, non-B group had had contact with jaundiced patients during the 6 mo preceding the onset of the disease, and 46% were students or soldiers. The clinical course of the disease was, on the whole, milder than that of HB and similar to that of HA. Since many cases of non-A, non-B hepatitis are anicteric, it is concluded that the disease is a significant problem in Israel.
Subject(s)
Hepatitis C/etiology , Hepatitis, Viral, Human/etiology , Adult , Female , Hepatitis C/epidemiology , Humans , Israel , Jews , Male , Sex FactorsABSTRACT
A survey of the hepatitis B antigen (HBsAg) in Jerusalem blood donors revealed an overall prevalence of 0.75%, with a significant difference between males (0.90%) and females (0.38%). Analysis according to ethnic groups indicated that immigrants from North Africa had the highest prevalence (3.18%) and immigrants and tourists from North America and Europe the lowest (0.35%). Analysis according to volunteer, paid professional or family replacement categories indicated that a fourfold increase in the HBsAg prevalence for family donors (0.38 to 1.77%) coincided with the discontinuation of payment to professional donors and intensification of recruitment efforts toward volunteers and replacement donors. Case investigation of the HBsAg-positive donors within the family replacement group revealed that 24% were, in fact, commercial donors covertly engaged by the families of patients to fulfill replacement obligations. The present study illustrates how a community blood program which includes nonvoluntary donations, such as family replacement donations, incurs the risk of inadvertently introducting commercial blood donors into donor population. The findings support the premise that a 100% volunteer blood program is the most reliable guarantee for maintaining a blood supply from healthy donorswith a minimal risk of infectivity from hepatitis.
