PREVALENCE OF ANTI-HEPATITIS-C VIRUS IN THE BLOOD-DONOR POPULATION OFRIO-DE-JANEIRO

The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies in 2,557 asymptom atic volunteer Brazilian blood donors is reported. Using the line immu noassay (Inno-LIA) as a confirmatory test on ELISA anti-HCV-positive r eacting sera, a prevalence rate of 2.7% for anti-HCV positivity was fo und. By comparison, prevalences of 1. 6% for hepatitis B surface antig en, 0.9% for Treponema pallidum, 0.4% for human immunodeficiency virus and 0,04% for Trypanosoma cruzi were observed. Only 57% of the HCV-po sitive donors had elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. Usin g previous criteria, based on surrogate markers (ALT greater-than-or-e qual-to 50 IU/l and for anti-hepatitis B core antibody), for HCV infec tion at that time, only 25% of the HCV-positive donations would have b een eliminated. In view of the high prevalence of anti-HCV reactivity among the Brazilian blood donor population and the poor reliability of surrogate markers, it is recommended that routine screening for anti- HCV in Brazilian blood donors is introduced.