Risk Factors of Hepatitis C Infection among Household Contacts in Zahedan

Introductio: The estimated number of HCV infected people is 170 million in the world. Complete recovery is rarely seen in hepatitis C patients and progression to chronic disease is almost always a rule. Lack of passive and active immunization makes preventive measures less practical in this situation. Material and

We conducted a matched case-control study in which the risk factors of hepatitis C infection among household contacts were analyzed in Zahedan. Two hundred (41 index cases and 159 family members) were evaluated according to the risk factors including: history of blood transfusion, intravenous drug abuse, unsafe sex, tattooing, surgery and gastrointestinal endoscopies.

Forty-six patients (41 index cases and 5 family members) were HCVAb positive in whom 38 (82.6%) were males and 8 (17.4%) were females whereas half the seronegative cases were males (P<0.000). Other risk factors including history of blood transfusion, intravenous drug abuse, unsafe sex, tattooing and surgery were statistically significant in both groups (P<0.05). There was not a significant difference between marital status and hepatitis C.

Since prevention measures in hepatitis C are more important than treatment, awareness of risk factors by global instruction is recommended.