Detection of Hepatitis C Virus Antibodies among Sudanese Barbers at Omdurman City

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus has some common epidemiological characteristics, and infects millions of people throughout the world. During haircut, shave, or pedicure, barbers may accidentally expose to their clients' blood, transmit their own infection to them, or transmit the infection from one client to another. This study aimed to detect the antibody of hepatitis C among Sudanese hair dressers population. This was a cross sectional study conducted during the period from January to November 2022 on 91 Sudanese hairdressers. Blood specimen was collected from 91 hairdressers with age ranging 20-55 years. Personal and clinical data were collected by questionnaire after verbal consent. All specimens were tested for the presence of HCV IgM antibodies using ELSIA kit. The result of the study showed that HCV IgM antibodies were detected in 4 (4.3%) of the total specimens examined and most of them had negative for infection (95.7%). Most of the studied hairdresser had primary level of education followed secondary level and graduated level, most of them had information about HCV virus. Regarding source of information about HCV virus, internet demonstrated the main source of information, followed by, friends and then doctors. The hairdressers had good practice in their shops. The finding of this study indicates low frequency of HCV among barbers in Sudan.