Seroepidemiology of Hepatitis C in Kermanshah (West of Iran, 2006)

Background and Aims: Chronic and serious outcomes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection impose a remarkable economic burden to the health system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of HCV infection in the general population of Kermanshah in the year 2006.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1721 residents from Kermanshah were chosen by systematic and cluster sampling in the year 2006. After interview, serum samples were taken and evaluated for HCV-Ab using ELISA method (3rd generation). Positive samples were confirmed by Western Blot (WB) and PCR if necessary.

Results: The prevalence of HCV was 0.87% (male: 1.4% vs. female: 0.3%). There was 88.2% coordination between ELISA and WB results. Statistical relationship was observed between HCV infection and male sex (P<0.018), history of addiction (P<0.0001), shared needle (P<0.0001), unsafe sexual contact (P<0.008), history of blood and blood products transfusion (P<0.0001), tattooing (P<0.0001), history of incarceration (P<0.0001), and hemophilia (P<0.0001). On the other hand, stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that hemophilia, shared needle, IV addiction, transfusion and addiction were the most important risk factors for HCV infection in a descending order. The rate of HCV infection increased in cases with multiple risk factors.

Conclusions: We estimate that among 967196 people, who live in Kermanshah, nearly 8400 individuals may have HCV infection and this will be a major problem in the near future. Addicts especially IV drug users and cases with the history of blood and blood products transfusion are high risk groups who need special attention regarding HCV infection.