Background: Hepatitis C infection (HCV) has an estimated seroprevalence of 1-2% in women of child-bearing age and vertical transmission rate of 5-15%.
Aims: To characterise the current trends of HCV in an Irish antenatal population.
Methods: Infants of HCV seropositive women, born 1994 to 1999, were referred to the Paediatric Infectious Diseases service. Maternal details were collected retrospectively.
Results: 296 HCV seropositive women were studied. 244 (82%) were infected through intravenous drug use (IVDU), 25 (8%) through heterosexual contact and 13 (7%) via blood products. Nine women had no identifiable risk factors. Coinfection with other blood borne viruses was uncommon (4.7% HIV, 3.4% hepatitis B). Of 84 women tested for HCV-RNA, 46 (55%) were positive. Eighty three (26%) delivered prematurely; the caesarean section rate was 11%.
Conclusions: HCV is increasingly detected in antenatal clinics. Heterosexual contact is a mode of spread. Maternal HCV viraemia can be variable in pregnancy. Further study of HCV in pregnancy is needed to define the impact of pregnancy on HCV, accurately predict infant outcome and selectively target interventions to women at greatest risk of transmission.