Abstract
BackgroundViral hepatitis is a serious public health problem affecting billions of people globally. Limited information is available on this issue in Morocco. This cross-sectional study was undertaken with the aim of determining the seroprevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) among the general population and among blood donors.MethodsBlood samples from volunteers, have been screened with ELISA tests for detecting the hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HCV. Within the seroreactive patients for HCV in the general population, RT-PCR was performed by the Cobas Ampliprep/Cobas Amplicor.ResultsHCV and HBV-seropositivity was documented in 1.58% and 1.81% out of 41269 and 23578 participants respectively from the general population. Two patients were found to be co-infected. HCV-RNA was detected by PCR in 70.9% of the 195 anti-HCV positive subjects. The anti-HCV prevalence was not different among males and females (P = 0.3). It increased with age; the highest prevalence was observed among subjects with >50 years old (3.12%). Various risk factors for acquiring HCV infection were identified; age, dental treatment, use of glass syringes and surgical history. In addition to these factors, gender and sexual risk behaviors were found to be associated with higher prevalence of hepatitis B. The HBV positivity was significantly higher among males than females participants in all age groups (P < 0.01). The peak was noticed among males aged 30–49 years (2.4%). None of the 152 persons younger than 20 years had HBsAg or anti-HCV. The prevalence of anti-HCV and HBsAg among 169605 blood donors was 0.62% and 0.96% respectively.ConclusionsOur study provided much important information concerning hepatitis B and C prevalence and risk factors; it confirmed the intermediate endemicity for HCV infection and pointed to a decreasing trend of HBV incidence, which might reclassify Morocco in low HBV endemicity area. This could be attributed primarily to the universal HBV vaccination among infants and healthcare workers over the past 13 years. HCV and HBV infections in the present survey were mainly associated with nosocomial exposures. Prevention and control of HBV infection are needed to reduce HBV transmission between adults.
Highlights
Viral hepatitis is a serious public health problem affecting billions of people globally
General population In all, 41 269 (sex-ratio (M/F) = 2.30) serum samples were tested for anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) Ab analysis and 23 578 (sex-ratio (M/F) = 1.84) subjects were enrolled for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) detection
The seroprevalence of anti-HCV Ab was found to be 1.58%, corresponding to 651 seropositive patients out of 41 269 participants, of those individuals, viral RNA was detected in 70.9%
Summary
Viral hepatitis is a serious public health problem affecting billions of people globally. Limited information is available on this issue in Morocco This cross-sectional study was undertaken with the aim of determining the seroprevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) among the general population and among blood donors. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that there are 360 million chronically HBV infected people and 5.7 million HBV-related cases worldwide [1]. It is transmitted in a manner similar to HBV and it is estimated that about 3% of the world’s population carry HCV, with 3 to 4 million new infections per year [4]. Chronic HCV infection progresses at a variable rate to cirrhosis in 15 to 20% of patients, who have a 1 to 4% annual risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma in 20–30 years [6]
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