Abstract
BackgroundIllegal commercial plasma and blood donation activities in the late 1980s and early 1990s caused a large number of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in rural areas of China. In the present study, we aimed to elucidate the risk factors of HCV RNA positivity and HCV genotype distribution in former blood donors.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was carried out in a former blood donation village in rural Hebei Province, North China. All residents were invited for a questionnaire interview and testing for HCV antibodies as well as HCV nucleic acids. Questionnaires were administered to collect information about their personal status and commercial blood donation history. Nested PCR was used to amplify HCV nucleic acids in C/E1 region and NS5b region followed by genotyping and phylogenetic analysis. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze the distributions of HCV genotypes in different groups.ResultsA total of 512 blood samples were collected. Anti-HCV positive were 148 (28.5%) whereas RNA positive rate was 13.87%. Residents between 50 and 59 years old had the highest RNA positive rate (27/109, 24.77%) (P = 0.0051). Multivariate logistic regression model analysis revealed that plasma donation (OR = 8.666, 95% CI: 1.390-54.025) was the dominant risk factor of HCV infection. Furthermore, HCV subtypes 1b and 2a were found by genotyping and phylogenetic analysis. 36 samples (53.73%) were subtype 1b and 31 samples (46.27%) were subtype 2a.ConclusionsUnsafe practices during illegal plasma donation led to a high risk of HCV infection. The identification of genotypes 1b and 2a as major HCV genotypes circulating in this region may help to predict the future burden of HCV related diseases and facilitate better medical treatment towards HCV carriers. These results are useful for public healthcare as well as disease control and surveillance.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-015-1535-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Illegal commercial plasma and blood donation activities in the late 1980s and early 1990s caused a large number of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in rural areas of China
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) can cause hepatitis C, which can range in severity from a mild illness to lifelong diseases including liver cirrhosis or liver cancer [1]
Questionnaire interview and serum sampling The questionnaire included demographic characteristics of the subjects and exposure histories for possible risk factors related to HCV infection
Summary
Illegal commercial plasma and blood donation activities in the late 1980s and early 1990s caused a large number of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in rural areas of China. We aimed to elucidate the risk factors of HCV RNA positivity and HCV genotype distribution in former blood donors. About 130 to 170 million people are chronically infected with HCV worldwide [2,3]. 0.43% (95% CI: 0.33-0.53%), with about 4.29-6.89 million people estimated to be infected with HCV throughout China [4,5]. Hepatitis C virus is a single-stranded and positivestrand RNA virus. It is divided into six genotypes [6], which differ from each other by 31-33% at the nucleotide level.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
