Seroprevalence of Anti-HCV Antibodies among Blood Donors in Local Population

(1) To determine the Seroprevalence of Anti-HCV Antibodies in the local population in and around Junagadh Gujarat) from January-2011 to December-2014 (2) To compare the prevalence of seropositivity of Anti-HCV Antibodies with other regions in India Materials and methods: A retrospective study was conducted on blood donors over a period of 4 yrs to assess the prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection. Two different testing methods (1) rapid HCV card test (RECKON) and (2) Anti-HCV ELISA test (QUALISA-HCV) were used for screening purpose. First method was based upon the principle of Rapid Visual Single Step Immuno-chromatographic Assay and Second method was based upon the principle of ELISA. Results: A retrospective study was carried on 21,918 blood donors out of which 13,246(63.434%) were in-house donors and 8,672(39.566%) were outdoor (camp) donors .19,955 (91%) donors were male & 1,963(09%) donors were female. Out of 21,918 blood units collected, 1,121(5.115%) blood units were discarded. Out of 1,121 discarded units 18(1.606%) units were Anti-HCV reactive. The prevalence of Anti-HCV seropositivity was found to be 0.082%. Conclusion: Blood donors represent apparently healthy population of a particular geographical region. Occasionally out of them, some people are found to be reactive for Anti-HCV Antibodies and many other similar antigens as well as antibodies. So to reduce Seroprevalence of Anti-HCV, more sensitive screening assays and proper donor selection are must.