Household members of hepatitis C virus-infected people in Hafizabad, Pakistan: infection by injections from health care providers

Abstract

Household members of people with hepatitis C are at increased risk of HCV infection. The prevalence and routes of transmission of HCV to household members in Hafizabad, Pakistan were investigated. Household members of 24 index cases were given a risk factor questionnaire, tested for HCV infection, and the risk factors between the infected and uninfected were compared. Twelve of 74 household members (16·2%) were seropositive for HCV antibody. This was 2½ times the rate of infection in the general population (OR=2·8; P=0·01). None of the routes of transmission studied within the household was associated with an increased risk. Household members who received more than 4 injections per year were 11·9 times more likely to be infected than those who had not (P=0·016). In Hafizabad, the greatest risk for HCV infection to household members of infected people is injections given by health-care workers rather than household contact with infected persons.