PREVALENCE OF ANTI-HCV ANTIBODIES IN WESTERN INDIA

Nearly 2000 serum samples collected from different risk groups from Pu ne and Bombay metropolitian areas were tested for antibodies to hepati tis C virus (anti-HCV) by Recombinant Immunoblot Assay-3 (RIBA-3). Pat ients undergoing haemodialysis showed 24.5 per cent seropositivity whe reas 5.7 and 5.3 per cent of multiply transfused patients (>2 units) a nd chronic liver disease patients respectively were anti-HCV positive. Leprosy patients had almost 0.7 per cent seropositivity. In other ris k groups the positivity rate was nil. In normal population only one ou t of 830 persons had anti-HCV antibodies. It is therefore apparent tha t the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in western India is not hi gh. However, special care needs to be taken for dialysis patients. As none of the 430 pregnant women and 86 children below the age of 5 yr w ere anti-HCV positive, vertical mode of HCV transmission seems to be n egligible.