THE PREVALENCE RATE OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS IN BASRAH CITY AND THE COMMON CAUSATIVE RISK FACTORS

Abstract

Background: This prospective descriptive study was carried out in the Basra Public Health Department fromAugust 2017 to August 2018 on all patients registered at the Communicable Disease Control unit. Aim of the study. is to detect the prevalence rate of hepatitis c virus among risky group and to determined the most common risk factors. Patients and method.A total of 162137 (97283 male and 64854 female) people were screened and 355 (205 male and 150 female) people were found to be infected. The laboratory investigation included a blood sample to detect anti-hepatitis C virus antibodies by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test, which is a confirmatory test for those with positive results found using the HCV RNA genotype. Result. In this study, we found that the prevalence rate of the hepatitis C virus in Basra city among the screening group was 2% in comparison with the global population affected by this diseasebeing a little more than 3%. The most common risk factor for infection with the hepatitis C virus is dentinal interference (83 patients) with 23% affected cases, while the lowest risk factor is in prisoners. Among patients with cancer, the most common age group at the risk of infection with hepatitis C is 15 to less than 45 years and 0.5%. The number of infected people in rural areas is greater than in the center with a prevalence rate of 0.22% in Al-Qurna. The most common risky group exposed to infection are hemodialysis patient( prevalence rate 84.5%). Conclusion. It’s important to apply a screening program of hepatitis C to all population to have a more quorate prevalence rate; population health education about the risk factor of infection with hepatitis C and how to prevent it; a strict follow-up of all dentinal clinics by the health directorate and insure the use of sterilized instrument for every patient; use of disposable instrument in dentinal clinic if possible; early screening for renal disease is necessary to prevent the development of renal failure and its complication. Keywords. HBV, HCV, prevalence of hepatitis virus