Abdul Majeed Akhtar, Sufia Majeed, Wasif Majeed, Tahira Ashraf, Shamsa Kanwal.
Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of HCV Infection among Children in Lahore, Pakistan.
Ann King Edward Med Uni Jan ;28(4):428-32.

Background: Pakistan has second highest prevalence of HCV in the world. The epidemiology and burden of HCV infection varies in people of different ages. Objective: Present study was designed to measure the prevalence of HCV among children in selected public and private hospitals of Lahore Methods: Children in the study were screened for anti-HCV test through ELISA (third generation ELISA Kit and Qaigen kit) for detecting the viral load from June 2018 to May 2019. Results: Children in the study were screened for anti-HCV test through ELISA (third generation ELISA Kit and Qaigen kit) for detecting the viral load. The average age of non-reactive and reactive children was 7.28+-3.36 and 5.50+-3.8 years respectively. Socio-economic status was found associated with anti-HCV. An association was found significant for birthplace, delivery assisted by, and type of milk given to the child. Conclusion: This study shows that the prevalence of HCV is 3.85% in children in lahore city of Pakistan, which is alarming situation for healthcare providers, researchers and policy makers.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com