No abstract

A cross-sectional hospital based study was carried out at the National Center for Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease in Khartoum, Sudan to determine the prevalence, common genotypes and risk factors for hepatitis C virus infection in Sudanese patients with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis. A total of 176 patients with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis were tested for HCV antibodies and 4.5% of the samples were reactive. PCR was positive in 2.3% of cases and genotype 4 was the major genotype isolated with subtypes 4, 4e, and 4c/4d. It is concluded that HCV was of low seroprevalence in the study population and that parenteral antischistosomal therapy was not a significant risk factor in transmission of infection in the Sudan.

Study objective-The hepatitis delta virus (HDV) contributes significantly to the morbidity and mortality ofhepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, which is particularly prevalent among intravenous drug users and male homosexuals. A recent report has indicated that HDV first appeared in the South East London intravenous drug using population in 1982. The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of HDV in these two groups at risk of HBV infection in South East London.Design-The study was a cohort analysis of HBV and delta virus serum markers, stratified temporally and with respect to intravenous drug use and sexual practice.Setting

The seroprevalence of antibodies to hepatitis E virus (HEV) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) was determined in a community-based sample in innercity London where socioeconomic conditions were expected to result in a high prevalence of antibodies to HAV, and in which the presence of immigrants from the developing world pose a risk of imported infection of both HAV and HEV. The seroprevalence of anti-HAV was 45.1% in UK born subjects and 69.7% in non-UK born subjects and each group showed differing patterns of age-specific seroprevalence. The seroprevalence rates of anti-HEV was 3.9% in UK born subjects and 8.8% in non-UK born subjects. The age-specific seroprevalence of the UK born group is suggestive of a cohort effect. The data suggest a low circulation of HEV in inner-city London, remaining uncommon relative to HAV.