Epidemiological study of Hepatitis C virus in Misan governorate

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a RNA virus classified as a febrile disease virus that infects liver specifically. The illness that caused by this virus can be asymptomatic and in long term of infection might lead to damage the liver and then potentially life threatening of the virus carriers.  The main goal of this research is to HCV diagnossis in suspected patients in Misan province. Here, immunological assay, which is Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) were utilized for HCV detection. The sera of the patients with different in ages and sex were obtained by collaboration with Central Health laboratory in Misan governorate to be use for these purposes. The findings revealed that the HCV infection is an existent in Misan province, as the ELISA test confirmed 36 (3.4%) positive cases and 1077 (96.6%) negative cases in 1115 specimens for 15 months from January 2023 to March 2024. In conclusion, this research has been demonstrated that the incidence rate of HCV in Misan is low and it potentially increased if any a lack of local health system and/or emerging a new virulent strain of the virus.