Study of Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among Blood Donors And Recipients Attending Alexandria University Hospitals

Abstract

The last decades have witnessed an explosion in knowledge of viral hepatitis, a major public health problem through out the world affecting several hundreds of millions of people. Viral hepatitis is a cause of considerable morbidity and mortality in human population both from acute infection and the chronic sequelae.

Over recent years, hepatitis C virus infection has emerged as a major public health concern in Egypt, with reported prevalence rates that are ten to twenty fold higher than those reported in Europe and United States.

This work aimed at study the prevalence of hepatitis C among blood donors and recipients, study the general characteristics of blood donors and recipients, estimate incidence of hepatitis C infection among blood recipients and to find out the risk of infection among haemodialysis patients versus other blood recipients.