EPIDEMIC HISTORY OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS, PREVALENCE AND POTENTIAL TRANSMISSION RISKS IN PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Iqra Maqsood*, Sumia Aslam, Ayesha Akram1, Ariba Ashraf, Saima Jabeen and Muhammad Zubair

ABSTRACT

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was first identified in 1989 and belongs to the Flaviviridae family. It is a single-stranded RNA virus and has a long lag time between onset of infection and clinical manifestation of liver disease. HCV has been estimated to infect 170 million people worldwide. The current study examined the risk factors and prevalence of HCV infection in Punjab. A total of 350 patients attending District Head Quarter (DHQ) Hospital were randomly selected for investigation studies. The Blood sample was collected and screened for anti-HCV antibodies and subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. The results indicated 100 positive HCV RNA patients out of total selected 350 people. Hopefully, Successful treatment will have a profound effect on the incidence and prevalence of HCV infection.

Keywords: HCV, antibodies, infection, PCR.