Prevalence and risk factors of asymptomatic hepatitis C virus infection in Egyptian children

作     者：MS El-Raziky M El-Hawary G Esmat AM Abouzied N El-Koofy N Mohsen S Mansour A Shaheen M Abdel Hamid H El-Karaksy 

作者机构：Departments of Pediatrics Cairo University Cairo Egypt Departments of Tropical Medicine Cairo UniversityCairo Egypt Tropical Medicine Research Institute Cairo Egypt 

出 版 物：《World Journal of Gastroenterology》 (世界胃肠病学杂志（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2007年第13卷第12期

页      面：1828-1832页

核心收录：

学科分类：1004[医学-公共卫生与预防医学(可授医学、理学学位)] 100401[医学-流行病与卫生统计学] 10[医学] 

基　　金：Supported by the Sustainable Sciences Institute  United States as part of the small grants program 

主　　题：Hepatitis C virus Child Egypt Prevalence Transfusion Risk factor 

摘      要：AIM: To identify the prevalence, risk factors and manifestations of asymptomatic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Egyptian children. METHODS: Children at the age of 1-9 years were screened for HCV antibodies and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. Every child with elevated ALT and/or detectable HCV antibodies was tested for HCV RNA by RT-PCR and compared with two negative controls for risk factors and signs and symptoms of liver ***: We screened 1042 children, six of them had elevated ALT, negative HCV antibody and positive RNA, likely representing acute hepatitis C cases. Fifteen children were HCV seropositive, 5 of them were HCV RNA positive. Asymptomatic HCV infection was present in 2.02% (positive results for either HCV antibodies or HCV-RNA or both). Symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, history of fatigue and school absence because of illness and risk factors such as dental care were significantly more common among HCV positive cases than among controls. None of the HCV positive children was diagnosed as having signs of advanced liver disease upon clinical or ultrasonographic examination. CONCLUSION: Asymptomatic HCV infection is detectable in 2.02% Egyptian children.