HCV IN PUNJAB

ZONAL MOLECULAR DISTRIBUTION

Abstract

Background: HCV is the foremost cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular
carcinoma and its prevalence is increasing in developing countries like Pakistan. Present study
is focusing on its frequency in different districts of the Punjab of Pakistan. Setting: Different
districts of Punjab. Period: Jan 2010 to Dec 2010. Material and methods: 5ml venous blood
was collected from each donor by using disposable syringes. Sample is transferred to vials
containing anticoagulant, centrifuged and plasma was separated for further analysis.140 ul
plasma of every patient was analyzed for HCV RNA Virus by Real time PCR using Artus HCV
Quantification kit (Germany).For statistical analysis SPSS 16 was used. Results: A total count
of 3262 samples was collected from 32 districts of the Punjab and all these samples were both
rapid HCV screening and Anti HCV by Elisa positive. Out of which 2041 (62.57%) patients
were detected positive for HCV, 1221 (37.4%) were not detected.49.5%patients were male
while50.5% were female. 30.99% males were detected positive including patients with low viral
load. 31.58% were detected positive for HCV including low positive female patients.30.71%
females were detected positive for HCV, 37.5% were not detected for HCV. Conclusion: Highest
prevalence of HCV among different age groups is found in age group of 36-40 years with
12.23% and lowest is found in age group > 15 years with 0.31% (p=0.009).