Hepatitis C virus in healthy blood donors in Sri Lanka.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the etiological agent for the majority of cases of non-A, non-B hepatitis. As a blood-borne virus, HCV is widely recognized as a major causative agent of post-transfusion non-A, non-B hepatitis. The prevalence of HCV and the distribution of HCV genotypes in Sri Lanka in comparison with the rest of Asia are not well known.

Materials and methods

The blood samples collected from healthy blood donors at the National Blood Transfusion Centre of Sri Lanka were screened to determine the prevalence and the genotypes of HCV among blood donors in Sri Lanka.

Results

HCV antibodies were found in 53 of 4980 blood donors. However, of the 53 only 8 positive results were confirmed by Reverse Transcription-PCR, which suggests frequent false-posi

SUBMITTER: Senevirathna D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3082710 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature