SHORT REPORT: HEPATITIS C VIRUS INFECTION IN SAMOA AND AMERICAN SAMOA

Abstract. Little is known about the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Pacific islands. In this study, serum specimens collected in 1985 and 2002 among the general populations of Samoa and American Samoa were tested for antibody to HCV by a third-generation enzyme immunoassay and a recombinant immunoblot assay. Of the 3,466 specimens tested, 8 (0.2%; 95 % confidence interval 0.07–0.4%) were positive for antibody to HCV. Prevalence did not vary by location or demographic characteristic. Thus, HCV is present in the Samoas but at a low prevalence. An estimated 2.2 % of the world’s population has been in-fected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV).1 Most of these 140 million people positive for antibodies to HCV are chronically infected, making HCV one of the most common chronic blood-borne viral infections in the world. In highly industri-alized countries, illicit injection drug use accounts for most infections,2 whereas in developing countries, most infections are attributable to parenteral exposures in health care set-tings, particularly unsafe injections.3 Blood transfusion also accounts for a substantial proportion of cases before screen