CAUSES OF PREVALENCE OF HEPATITIS–C IN VILLAGE MALKANI SHARIF, DISTRICT BADIN, SINDH, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Chronic Hepatitis C is one of the most common causes of hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis. It is estimated that up to 3% (180 million people) of the world’s population is affected by this disease. Hepatitis C is estimated to result in 366,000 deaths annually worldwide. Forty Nine percent of the population of Malkani Sharif is affected with Hepatitis C virus.  It was a cross-sectional descriptive study to determine the causes of hepatitis C in Malkani Sharif, union council Pangrio, is situated at GPS Coordinates: 68.83982, 24.65922. During April to June 2011, Two Hundred patients who were already diagnosed cases of Hepatitis C and having their PCR blood reports, were included in the study. A standardized questionnaire was developed for analyzing the main causes of Hepatitis C among them. The major causes seen were sharing of razors (91%), usage of used syringes (85%), blood transfusion (46%) and positive family history of Hepatitis C (31%).