HIGH-LEVEL OF HEPATITIS-C ENDEMICITY IN GABON, EQUATORIAL AFRICA

To assess the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, a commu nity-based study was performed in eastern Gabon on 1172 subjects over 5 years of age. The prevalence of antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV) detecte d using second-generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) an d confirmed by an immunoblot assay (RIBA 2), was 6.5%. Anti-HCV preval ence increased with age but was related to neither sex nor ethnic grou p. Among 30 subjects with positive ELISA results, 14 had HCV viraemia as shown by the polymerase chain reaction (11/12 RIBA positive, 2/15 R IBA negative, 1/3 RIBA indeterminate). We conclude that HCV is highly endemic in western equatorial Africa and that a high proportion of the population may be viraemic.