Prevalence of Anti- Hepatitis C Virus Antibodies among Patients Attending Sokoto Specialist Hospital, Sokoto State, Nigeria

Hepatitis C virus is among the most common cause of viral hepatitis which considered as a major public health problem worldwide. This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of hepatitis C (HCV) antibody among patients attending Sokoto Specialist Hospital, using Acon ® Laboratory Inc, test kits, after the patients were advised on the need to know their status Of the 300 blood samples tested, 8 (2.7%) was positive for the presence of hepatitis C. Demographic variables (Occupation, Sex, Marital status and education) and risk factors (History of blood transfusion, history of sexual transmitted diseases, intravenous drug abuse and presence of tribal mark or tattoos) appeared not associated (p> 0.05) with the prevalence of HCV antibody. However, there is urgent need to take public health measures to reduce disease burden and transmission, by routine screening of all for HCV infections.