Hepatitis C virus infection in blood donors from the state of Puebla, Mexico | Sosa-Jurado et al. Virology Journal 2010 7 18 http content 7 1 18 VIROLOGY JOURNAL RESEARCH Open Access Hepatitis C virus infection in blood donors from the state of Puebla Mexico Francisca Sosa-Jurado1 4 Gerardo Santos-Lopez2 Belinda Guzman-Flores1 Julia I Ruiz-Conde1 Daniel Meléndez-Mena3 Martín T Vargas-Maldonado1 Ygnacio Martínez-Laguna4 Laura Contreras-Mioni5 Verónica Vallejo-Ruiz2 Julio Reyes-Leyva2 Abstract Background Worldwide 130 million persons are estimated to be infected with HCV. Puebla is the Mexican state with the highest mortality due to hepatic cirrhosis. Therefore it is imperative to obtain epidemiological data on HCV infection in asymptomatic people of this region. The objective of present study was to analyze the prevalence of antibodies and genotypes of hepatitis C virus HCV in blood donors from Puebla Mexico. Results The overall prevalence was 515 61553 . Distribution by region was North 54 6270 Southeast 75 7197 Southwest 36 3852 and Central 350 44234 . Ninety-six donors were enrolled for detection and genotyping of virus from which 37 were HCV-RNA positive. Detected subtypes were 1a 1b mixed 1a 1b undetermined genotype 1 2a 2b and mixed 1a 2a . All recovered donors with S CO 39 were HCV-RNA positive 11 11 and presented elevated ALT in donors with S CO 39 HCV-RNA positivity was of and 70 had normal values of ALT. The main risk factors associated with HCV infection were blood transfusion and surgery. Conclusions HCV prevalence of donors in Puebla is similar to other Mexican states. The most prevalent genotype is 1 of which subtype 1a is the most frequent. Background Hepatitis C virus HCV infection is an important public health concern. Worldwide 130 million persons prevalence of are estimated to be infected. The primary diseases associated with HCV are chronic hepatitis cirrhosis and cellular hepatocarcinoma 1-3 . The actual prevalence of HCV is difficult
