The prevalence and genetic diversity of hepatitis C infection in antenatalclinic attenders in two regions of England

The prevalence and genetic diversity of hepatitis C infection in women atte nding antenatal clinics in two regions of England was investigated to infor m future surveillance and control measures. Women booking into antenatal ca re are routinely offered a test for immunity to rubella. Serum residues fro m these tests were unlinked, anonymized and archived as part of the Unlinke d Anonymous Prevalence Monitoring Programme (UAPMP). The serum specimens we re tested for anti-HCV using a cost-effective pooling strategy. After takin g into account differential sampling from the UAPMP serum archive, the adju sted overall prevalence of anti-HCV was 0.43% (95% CI: 0.32-0.53) in London and 0.21% (95% CI: 0.14-0.28) in the Northern and Yorkshire region. Restri ction fragment length polymorphism of amplified HCV RNA identified type 3a as the most common HCV genotype in these antenatal women. The prevalence of anti-HCV in antenatal women in the UK is low and consistent with that expe cted from injecting drug use.