Occurrence of antibodies against hepatitis C virus (HCV) among alcoholics

Abstract

Studies have shown that hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected alcoholics have more severe biochemical and histological evidence of liver disease than anti-HCV-negative patients. One possible mechanism for the increased liver damage is that alcohol may have a stimulatory effect on HCV replication. This study was therefore carried out to investigate the seroprevalence of HCV virus among alcoholics. Two-hundred and seventy (270) alcoholics and fifty (50) control subjects at selected locations in Jos South local government area (LGA), of Plateau State were screened for HCV antibodies using grand rapid diagnostic test strip. Structured questionnaire was employed to obtain demographic data of study
subjects. Overall, the prevalence of HCV infection was found to be 45(16.7%) in response to alcoholics while the non-alcoholic (control) subjects recorded 3 (6.0%) positivity, [(x² = 3.765); P > 0.05]. Gender
consideration showed that females subjects had a higher prevalence of 25 (9.3%) compared to males with 20 (7.4%) among the alcoholic subjects. The 19 – 30 years age group recorded the highest
seroprevalence of 14 (5.2%) to the HCV, [(x² = 4.757); P > 0.05], while no significant difference was observed among positive subjects screened for serum aminotranferase levels in relation to age and gender. Available evidence from this study indicates that alcoholic consumption is a strong determinant of HCV infection. Drastic measures at creating awareness and the need for routine screening among alcoholics should be given due consideration. However, future HCV studies need to
quantify concurrent alcoholic consumption to further our understanding of the total burden of illness from alcohol associated HCV in the community.

Keywords: Alcoholics, hepatitis c virus, occurrence