Hepatitis C Infection and Risk of Chronic Liver Disease in Lagos

Objectives: This case-control study sets out to investigate the prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) and its association with the presence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in Nigerians with chronic liver disease. Method: Seventy-four (74) biopsy proven cases of chronic liver disease and 74 age and sex matched controls without liver disease were evaluated. Questionnaire interview for risk factors was administered to all subjects. Anti-HCV was determined using a highly sensitive third generation enzyme immuno-assay (ELISA 3, Ortho Diagnostics Systems Gmbh, Germany). Hepatitis B surface antigen was evaluated using an ELISA test system (Murex Diagnostics Limited, UK). Results: The prevalence of anti-HCV was significantly higher in patients with chronic liver disease than in the controls (12.2% vs 1.4%, p= Conclusion: HCV infection, like HBV appears to be an independent risk factor for CLD. It however occurs most frequently in HBsAg negative patients. Dual infection with both HBV and HCV appears uncommon in Nigerian patients with chronic liver disease. KEYWORDS: Hepatitis B and C infection, case-control, liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma Nig. Qt. J. Hosp. Med. Vol.12(1-4) 2002: 1-5