AbstractIntroduction: India has high prevalence of HCV in blood donors, which is easily transmitted through infected blood. The aim of the present study is to determine the seroprevalence of HCV in 14727 blood donors in Davangere. Materials & Methods: The present study was conducted to detect Hepatitis C in blood donors (voluntary and replacement donors) for two years & screening done by ELISA (3rd generationUBIR, HCV EIA.40 kit). Results: Seroprevalence of HCV was 0.33%, among which 85% were males (13292) and the remaining were females donors (1435).Among 43 positive donors, one donor was illiterate and the remaining 42 were literate. Out of the total positive donors, married donors showed 0.42% and unmarried showed 0.18% seropositivity. Most of the seropositive individuals were in reproductive age group (1840) Highest prevalence was in age 1835 years. A, B and O group donors were almost equal in number with AB group constituting least number of donors. Conclusion: In conclusion, the present study has established the prevalence the HCV antibody in healthy donors was 0.29% in our area (Davangere). This proves that compulsory screening for HCV lowers the incidence of post transfusion hepatitis (PTH).
Keywords: HCV; Hepatitis C Virus; Sero Prevalence; Blood Donors.