| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2021 | Volume
: 18
| Issue : 1 | Page : 18-22 |
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Seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus in voluntary blood donors at a tertiary care hospital, Ahmedabad, India
Henisha Tulsidas Tahiliani, Asha Poonamchand Purohit, Vipul Bachubhai Prajapati, Puja Bhavesh Jarwani
Department of Pathology and Medicine, GCS Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Correspondence Address:
Puja Bhavesh Jarwani
40, Niharika Bungalows, Nr. Azad Society, Opp. Himmatlal Park, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad - 380 015, Gujarat
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/MJBL.MJBL_66_20
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Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most common cause of post transfusion non-A, non-B hepatitis worldwide. The prevalence of HCV in blood donors in high-income countries ranges from 0.002% to 0.05%, in middle-income countries ranges from 0.03% to 0.80%, and in low-income countries, prevalence varies from 0.50% to 2.23%. Objectives: The objectives of this study are to assess the seroprevalence and the trend of HCV in healthy voluntary blood donors at a tertiary care hospital in Ahmedabad over a period of 3 years. Settings and Design: Observational, retrospective study. Materials and Methods: During January 2017 to December 2019, 9477 voluntary blood donors were tested for the presence of anti-HCV antibody by using a 3rd-generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were statistically analyzed by using the Chi-square test, and Chi-Square test for linear trends using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software trial version 19. Results: Out of 9477 voluntary blood donors, 9229 (97.38%) donors were male and 248 (2.62%) were female. Ten donors (0.11%) were positive for anti-HCV. All seropositive donors were male. Out of total 0.11% seropositive donors, maximum (0.07%) were within the age group of 21–30 years. Seroprevalence of HCV showed a statistically significant decreasing trend over 3 years. Conclusion: Hepatitis C is a common cause of transfusion-related hepatitis. Early identification of persons with chronic HCV infection would enable infected persons to receive the necessary care and treatment to prevent or delay the onset of liver disease.
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