Incidence and risk factors for community-acquired hepatitis C infection from birth to 5 years of age in rural Egyptian children

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• 作者：Doa’ ; a A. Saleh ; Fatma M. Shebl ; Samer S. El-Kamary ; Laurence S. Magder ; Alif Allam ; Mohamed Abdel-Hamid ; Nabiel Mikhail ; Mohamed Hashem ; Soraya Sharaf ; Sonia K. Stoszek ; G. Thomas Strickl
• 关键词：Hepatitis C ; Children ; Incidence ; Risk factors ; Rural community ; Egypt
• 刊名：Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
• 出版年：2010
• 出版时间：May 2010
• 年：2010
• 卷：104
• 期：5
• 页码：357-363
• 全文大小：229 K

文摘

A prospective study in three Egyptian villages (A, B and C) having a high prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection examined incidence of community-acquired HCV infection in children; 2852 uninfected infants were prospectively followed from birth for up to 5.5 years. Fifteen seroconverted for either HCV antibodies and/or HCV-RNA (incidence of 0.53 % ). Ten had both anti-HCV and HCV-RNA; four had only anti-HCV; and one had HCV-RNA in the absence of antibody. The incidence rate at all ages was 2.7/1000 person-years (PY). It was 3.8/1000 PY during infancy and 2.0/1000 PY for the 1–5-years age group. Hospitalization and low birth weight increased the risk of infection; while living in village B, the family having a higher socioeconomic status, and advanced maternal education were protective. Six of eight HCV-infected infants reported iatrogenic exposures (e.g. hospitalization, therapeutic injections, ear piercing) prior to infection whereas only 2/7 children older than 1 year reported these exposures. Having an HCV-positive mother was the only other reported risk in two of these older children. The virus cleared in six (40 % ) children by the end of follow-up. Health education targeting iatrogenic exposures and focusing on risk factors could reduce HCV infection in children in high-risk populations.