Seroprevalence of Hepatitis C Virus in the Urban Commune of Kindia-Republic of Guinea

Abstract

Introduction: Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus; its spread in humans has been boosted by the emergence of parenteral use for medical purposes or drug injections, as well as its asymptomatic nature in the acute phase. The global prevalence of hepatitis C is estimated at 1%, with a variable distribution in different regions of the world, sometimes even within the same country. General objective: To help improve the biological diagnosis and prevention of HCV infections in the urban commune of Kindia. Methodology: The urban commune of Kindia was used as the study area. This prospective and descriptive study was carried out at the Institut de Recherche en Biologie Appliquée de Guinée (IRBAG) from June to December 2022. The biomaterial consists of 3,000 blood samples taken from patients attending consultations at health facilities. The Immuno-Enzymatic technique (ELISA) was used to test for anti-HCV antibodies. Results: In the course of our work, out of 3,000 samples taken from patients admitted to health facilities, 78 cases tested positive for the anti-HCV antibody, representing a carriage rate of 2.6%.  Females were the most affected, with 50 positive cases (1.67%). The 31-40 age group had the highest anti-HCV antibody carriage rate, at 0.70%. Conclusion: All socio-professional groups are affected by this infection, but to varying degrees. Despite our efforts, hepatitis C virus infection remains a major concern, as there is currently no vaccine and existing treatments are expensive and inaccessible to middle-income countries.