Abstract
Background: Hepatitis C virus remains the leading cause of chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma. Little evidence exists in Albania according to HCV prevalence and its distribution in different groups. Objective: Aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients diagnosed in the laboratory of a tertiary care center. Methods: In the study were included a total of 1793 patients who were tested for anti - HCV antibodies with chemiluminescence (CLIA) method. Results: 233 out of 1793 patients were positive for anti - HCV antibodies resulting in a prevalence of 12.44%. Prevalence of anti - HCV antibodies was higher in hemodialysis patients, 35.74%. More positive anti - HCV antibodies was present in males than in females’ group. Conclusion: The anti-HCV prevalence among patients is higher and highlight the importance of re-defining risk groups and monitoring of patients and health care worker as part of nosocomial infection programs. Keywords: Hepatitis C virus, anti - HCV antibody, RNA viral load, Prevalence
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