A pilot study of the prevalence of hepatitis C virus antibodies and hepatitis C virus RNA in southern Cameroon

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1995 Jan;52(1):98-100. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1995.52.98.

Abstract

Information is lacking on the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in most African countries. An algorithm based on a combination of enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) with different formats (a commercial test, an HCV antibody [Ab] III test, and an HCV core Ab EIA) was used to estimate the prevalence of HCV infection in different population groups from southern Cameroon. An overall high prevalence was observed, with a significant increasing trend for both sexes with respect to age. A high proportion (67.4%) of HCV-positive sera were viremic as demonstrated by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. We conclude that the prevalence of HCV is high in southern Cameroon and increases linearly with age.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Algorithms
  • Cameroon / epidemiology
  • Chi-Square Distribution
  • Confidence Intervals
  • Female
  • Hepacivirus / genetics
  • Hepacivirus / immunology*
  • Hepatitis Antibodies / blood*
  • Hepatitis C / epidemiology*
  • Hepatitis C Antibodies
  • Humans
  • Immunoenzyme Techniques
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pilot Projects
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / epidemiology
  • Prevalence
  • RNA, Viral / blood*
  • Sex Factors

Substances

  • Hepatitis Antibodies
  • Hepatitis C Antibodies
  • RNA, Viral