Abstract
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease, caused by blood borne pathogen; the Hepatitis C Virus. In this study we analyzed blood samples collected from various risk groups for the prevalence of anti-HCV and active HCV infection with the help of Immunochromtographic tests and nested PCR. The prevalence of active HCV infection among the high risk groups was 15.57% (26/167). The prevalence of HCV in individual risk groups was 15%, 28%, 8%, 14.28% and 14.28% in the case of thalassemics, dialysis, major surgery group, dental surgery group and injection drug users respectively. Our analysis reveals the fact that health care facilities in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan are contributing a great deal towards the spread of HCV infection.
Highlights
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease affecting the liver, caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV)
Sampling After having approved the study by the ethics committee of the Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Peshawar, a total of 167 blood samples were collected from patients belonging to various risk groups including thalassemics, major surgery group, dental surgery group, injection drug users and dialysis group
Initial screening was done for anti-HCV using Immunochromatographic test (ICT) strips from two different sources
Summary
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease affecting the liver, caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV is transmitted through contaminated blood transfusion, surgery, surgical instruments, dental surgery and excessive dental consultations, sexual contacts, drug abuses, sharing of the house hold items such as razors, toothbrushes and shaving from the barber [4,5,6]. I.e., surgical and dental treatments, have recently been indicated as risk factors for acute HCV [7]. In Pakistan, blood transfusion is still a major source of HCV transmission. Possible reasons for this include lack of resources, weak infrastructure, ill-equipped resources, poorly trained staff, inadequate policy implementation, frequent power breakdown and ineffective screening of blood donors for anti-HCV antibody [8]. Regular blood transfusion in patients with hereditary hemolytic anemia, Major risk factors associated with the transmission of HCV were never investigated at molecular level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The risk groups included thalasemics, major surgery group, dental surgery group, dialysis group and IDUs (Injection drug users)
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