African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 5 (20), pp. 1944-1946, 16 October 2006   

ISSN 1684–5315 © 2006 Academic Journals        

Short Communication

Sero-prevalence of hepatitis C virus among blood donors in Lagos, Nigeria

Ayolabi, C. I.¹*, Taiwo, M. A.¹, Omilabu, S. A.², Abebisi, A. O.¹ and Fatoba, O. M.¹

¹Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.

²Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.

*Corresponding author E-mail: ciayolabi@yahoo.co.uk.  Tel: +234-8037186163.

Accepted 11 September, 2006

The prevalence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV), one of the causative agents of viral hepatitis was investigated. One hundred and sixty-seven (167) blood samples from donors which were sero-negative to hepatitis B virus markers were screened for presence of HCV IgM antibodies using a third generation ELISA kit. Out of the 167 sample tested 14 (8.4%) were positive for anti-HCV with the highest prevalence rate recorded in the age group 30-39 years. There is no statistically significant association between the sex and the rate of HCV infection (p≤0.05).

Key words: Hepatitis, prevalence, blood transfusion.