Prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies in central India.

The study group screened for anti-HCV comprised 789 subjects of hepatitis, renal failure, thalassaemia and healthy voluntary blood donors coming from Central India during July 1992 to November 1995. The prevalence of HCV was low (4.85%) among 103 patients of acute viral hepatitis (AVH) while it was higher (25.64%) among 117 patients of chronic liver disease (CLD) with the highest rate of 31.57 percent in 57 patients of cirrhosis. The anti-HCV positivity among 101 patients with hepatic failure was around 10 percent. High risk groups such as chronic renal failure (CRF) patients mainly on haemodialysis and thalassaemics receiving multiple blood transfusions showed the prevalence of anti-HCV in 41.9 and 25.45 percent respectively. Only 1.78 percent of the 280 voluntary blood donors showed positivity for anti-HCV. Comparison of the data on HCV in the present study with data from other parts of India showed a wide variation in the different centers. The higher prevalence of HCV among CRF patients and thalassaemics indicates the need for screening of the blood units for anti-HCV before transfusion to these high risk patients.