Abstract
Objectives 1. To determine the epidemiological pattern of hepatitis C virus(HCV) infection in specific groups of Malaysian population viz. children below 10 years ol age, voluntary blood donors, pregnant women, female drug addicts, recipients oi multiple transfusion and chronic liver disease patients in a semi urban population. 2. To identify the risk factors in the transmission of the infection antreliability of existing laboratory tests. Methodology Sera from the above subjects were tested for markers of HCV, HBV. HIV and syphilis using Abbott and other diagnostic kits. Repeated reactives for HCV were confirmed by Abbott Matrix system and further screened for surrogate markers Detailed drug, sexual and transfusion related history was obtained and subsequenty corroborated with physical examination. Results We observed that sera from 64.7% and 73.3% of female drugs addict: were positive for HCV and HBV markers respectively while HCV seropositivity ir other groups was variable viz. multiple transfused subjects(35.5%), blood donorsf 1-7%), children Conclusion Hepatitis C virus infection is common in.Malaysia in specific high risk group people but not an important cause of chronic liver diseases. The present test kits are highly sensitive to critical temperature and incubation tinu explanation for which is not well understood. Surrogate markers are useful in sizable number of cases. Sexual mode of transmission for HCV infection needs furthei elaboration.
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