RETRACTED ARTICLE: Seroprevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Infection among Blood Donors and Clinical Visitors in Amran Governorate, Yemen

Abstract

The aim of this study was to estimate the seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among blood donors and clinical visitors in Amran Governorate, Yemen. The cross-sectional study was conducted in Amran general hospital, comprising eight hundred (800) members; among them, 500 were blood donors and 300 clinical visitors. A full demographic and clinical data were taken from each participant and the data were recorded in a predesigned questionnaire. The immune-chromatographic technique (ICT) and Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used for the detection of antibodies to HCV in human serum. The results showed the prevalence of HCV was 2% among blood donors and 2.7% among clinical visitors detected by ICT. The detection by ELISA showed 2.4% prevalence among blood donors and 3.3% among clinical visitors. The validity of ICT was high as it showed high specificity (100%) and sensitivity (81.8%). The overall prevalence of anti-HCV among blood donors and clinical visitors was 2.8% each. Our results showed 59.1% cases were positive from Amran city, while 40.9% of cases were positive from the rural area. No significant differences (P >0.05) were found between gender, residency, marital status, age groups, occupational and educational status. Finally, our findings showed the most important risk factor of HCV infection was visitors to dentists, followed by family history, surgery, perinatal injuries, blood transfusion, and cupping. The seroprevalence of HCV infection in Amran Governorate indicates the need for comprehensive and effective strategies to interrupt HCV transmission in the local population.