Hepatitis C in Leprous patients : Genotype and risk factor study

Background : On previous reports, the incidence of hepatiti Background : s C in Korean leprous patients is too high (55.6 69%). We investigated the percentage of the lepro ～ us patients with hepatitis C, genotypes, and risk factors in National Sorokdo Hospital. Methods : Out of total 714 leprous patients in National Sorok Methods : do Hospital, 147 selected risky patients (with abnormal AST/ALT, platelet 150,000/mm ≤ 3, known hepatitis C) were tested for hepatitis C antibody (Radioimmunoassay) and finally 45 HCV antibody positive-patients were tested for HCV RT-PCR and genotypes. Results : The percentage of patients with hepatitis C was 30. Results : 61% (45 out of 147 selected risky groups). 35 male and 10 female patients (mean age: 71±9.6) were included. Classifying according to the type of leprosy, 29 (5.57% out of 503) were patients with lepromatous leprosy and 16 (11.94% out of 134) were those with tuberculoid leprosy. Genotypic result for 41 patients was 1b in 16 (39.02%), 2a in 20 (48.78%), other type in 3 (7.32%) and mixed in 2 (4.88%). Only 2 of the patients (4.40%) had experienced blood transfusion before 1990, 20 (44.40%) had taken an operation or tattooing, 3 (6.67%) were given intravenous drugs, 2 (4.44%) were family members as married couple, and as much as 20 (44.40%) had no previously known possible risk factors. Conclusions : Major genotype of hepatitis C in leprous patie Conclusions : nts was 2a and it is different from that of other Korean population without leprosy (p-value= 0.0027). The percentage of patients with hepatitis C was not related to the subclass of the leprosy. Further studies for the non-blood transmission of hepatitis C virus in them and its controls are needed.ope