Prevalence of hepatitis C virus antibodies in Italian blood donors. The Italian Cooperative Group

11,117 blood donors from 24 blood transfusion services evenly distributed throughout the various Italian regions were tested for the presence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies in the serum and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level. The results are as follows: (1) anti-HCV seroprevalence in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inVox sanguinis Vol. 59; no. 1; p. 26
Main Authors Sirchia, G, Almini, D, Bellobuono, A, Giovanetti, A M, Marconi, M, Mercuriali, F, Mozzi, F, Parravicini, A, Pizzi, M, Zanuso, F
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 1990
Subjects
Adult
Blood Donors
Carrier State - epidemiology
Carrier State - immunology
Female
Hepatitis Antibodies - analysis
Hepatitis C - epidemiology
Hepatitis C - immunology
Hepatitis, Viral, Human - immunology
Humans
Italy - epidemiology
Male
Multicenter Studies as Topic
Prevalence
Italy
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Summary:11,117 blood donors from 24 blood transfusion services evenly distributed throughout the various Italian regions were tested for the presence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies in the serum and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level. The results are as follows: (1) anti-HCV seroprevalence in Italy was 0.87% with a difference between Northern and Southern regions (0.68 vs. 1.37%) and between younger and older subjects (0.62 vs. 1.21%); (2) prevalence of elevated ALT levels was 4.74% without a North-South effect (except than for markedly elevated ALT levels); (3) anti-HCV seroprevalence was higher in subjects with elevated ALT (5.0%), with a North-South effect (2.2 vs. 9.9%) and particularly high (19.2%) in subjects with markedly elevated ALT; (4) ALT levels were elevated in 26.2% of anti-HCV positive subjects, with a North-South effect (14 vs. 40.5%).
ISSN:0042-9007