Seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus specific antibodies among Iraqi children with thalassaemia

ABSTRACT

The seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus [HCV] specific antibodies and HCV genotypes distribution were studied among 559 Iraqi children with thalassaemia in receipt of repeated blood transfusions. HCV-specific antibodies were detected in 376 [67.3%] serum samples using third-generation enzyme immunoassay and confirmatory immunoblot assays. Of 78 randomly selected sera, 48 [61.5%] were HCV-RNA positive. HCV genotypes 1a, 1b, 4 and mixed 1b and 4 were demonstrated in 13 [27.1%], 11 [22.9%], 17 [35.4%] and 7 [14.6%] sera respectively. Strict measures for the controlling the spread of HCV are needed by introducing advanced techniques for blood donor screening