Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Antibodies among Blood Donors in Juba Teaching Hospital -Sudan

Abstract

This study has been conducted in Juba Town, capital of Bahr Eljabel State, Southern Sudan, to determine the prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) antibodies among blood donors. Two hundred and forty (240) voluntary blood donors attending Juba Teaching Hospital during the study period were recruited, 221 of them were males and 19 females. The mean age was 35 years. Out of the 240 samples tested for anti-HCV antibodies, 10 were found to be positive by a third generation indirect Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), giving a prevalence rate of (4.16%). When certain risk factors were investigated, previous blood transfusion and vaccination were both found to be significant risk factors predisposing to infection with hepatitis C virus (relative risk 2.85 & 2.6.2 respectively). Other risk factors like previous surgical operation, dental extraction and people who had undergone circumcision showed not significant effect on the incidence of HCV infection among the population under study. The study also showed, that most HCV positive donors were within the age groups 26 to 45 years (6%), followed by the age group over 46 years (5.5%). Females, on the other hand, were more affected than males. Married donors were found to have higher infection rate than unmarried donors (5.8% vs 2%) respectively. In conclusion the prevalence rate of HCV infection among blood donors in Juba Teaching Hospital (4.16%) was relatively, high, compared to results obtained in similar regions and countries of the world.