Prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and its vertical transmission in Egyptian pregnant women and their newborns

We studied the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody seropositivit y using ELISA (Ortho Diagnostic system, 3rd generation test) polymerase cha in reaction testing of HCV-RNA (PCR, Promega) and serum alanine transferase (ALT) level in 100 healthy, HIV-negative, pregnant women who delivered spo ntaneously at the Alexandria University Hospital, and their newborns, Some risk factors were studied using Fisher's exact test. Nineteen per cent of p regnant women were HCV seropositive and 14 of them (14/19) had circulating HCV-RNA, detected by PCR, Nine of the babies born to the 19 HCV seropositiv e females had circulating antibodies, whereas HCV-RNA was detected in five of them, This gives a vertical transmission risk of 5/14 (36 per cent) for mothers carrying the HCV-RNA and 5/19 (26 per cent) for those having circul ating HCV antibodies. History of previous blood transfusion, elevated serum ALT level, and history of infection with schistosomiasis were significant risk factors for HCV infection in mothers. In addition to the previous fact ors, maternal history of jaundice, stillbirth and hepatomegaly were signifi cant risk factors for neonatal infection. The occurrence of early jaundice and the presence of congenital anomalies in the newborns were non-significa nt risk factors, In conclusion, our data indicate a high prevalence of HCV seropositivity in Egyptian HIV-negative pregnant women with a significant h igh rate of vertical transmission of HCV.