Review article

HEPATITIS C IN TRANSFUSION MEDICINE

Anka Dorić ; Immunologic institut Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Blaženka Grahovac ; Laboratory for molecular diagnostic, School of medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia

Abstract

SUMMARY
Latest estimates indicate that world prevalence of anti-HCV reactivity spans widely from 0.1% in developed country to 13,6% in north Africa, while in Europe prevalence ranges from 0.1% to 4.9% in some eastern European countries. Epidemiological studies show, around 170 million people in world to be chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Preliminary testing
of general population and according to the estimates, Croatia has classified within countries with HCV prevalence of 1%–2%, and incidence rate of 0.005%. Chronic HCV infection represents increasingly significant public health problem, especially when we take in consideration blood donors as a possible source of infection. Modern transfusion medicine has an assignment
to treat patients with safe and quality blood preparations while minimizing risk of infection with blood transmitted diseases. In Croatia all blood donations are mandatory tested for HIV, HCV, HBV and syphilis. Although posttransfusion hepatitis C (PTHC) is only one of the possible infections transmitted by blood, there is no reason to be more concern than in other countries of Western Europe, where risk of HCV transmission through blood and blood preparations averages
from 1:400.000 to 1:800.000. Despite blood testing PTHC is still possible complication of transfusion treatments in Croatia and worldwide. Reasons for that are absence of symptoms and clinical signs of hepatitis C in incubation period of infected blood donors, absence of ideal test who would detect all cases of infected blood

Keywords

blood donors; hepatitis C markers; hepatitis C virus posttransfusion hepatitis C

Hrčak ID:

22568

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/22568

Publication date:

25.6.2007.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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