Declining prevalence of hepatitis C virus among university students in one of the main governorates in Egypt

Figures & data

Table 1 Sociodemographic features of the students

Category		Students (N=48,972), n (%)
Gender	Male	21,371 (43.8)
	Female	27,421 (56.2)
Sge (years)	Mean	18±0.056
Place of origin	Upper Egypt	1,448 (3)
	Lower egypt	47,344 (97)
Place of residence	Rural	20,057 (41.1)
	Urban	28,735 (58.9)
Family history of	Positive	10,868 (22.3)
HCV	negative	37,924 (77.7)

Abbreviation: HCV, hepatitis C virus.

Table 2 Seroprevalence of anti-HCV among the students and HCV RNA positivity (among the students than among the anti-HCV-positive students)

Studied subjects	Positive, n (%)	Negative, n (%)	P-value
Anti-HCV seroprevalence
students (n=48,792)	498 (1)	48,294 (99)
Gender
Males	194 (0.9)	21,177 (99.1)	0.029
Females	304 (1.1)	27,117 (98.9)
HCV RNA-positive by PCR among the students
students (n=48,792)	355 (0.7)	48,437 (99.3)
Gender
Males	147(0.7)	21,224 (99.3)	0.362
Females	208(0.8)	27,213 (99.2)
HCV RNA-positive by PCR among anti-HCV-positive students
Anti-HCV-positive students (498)	355 (71.3)	143 (28.7)
Gender
Males	147 (75.8)	47 (24.2)	0.077
Females	93 (31.6)	208 (68.4)

Abbreviation: HCV, hepatitis C virus.

Table 3 Possible sources of HCV infection among the students

Risk factors	Anti-HCV			P-value
	Negative (n=48,294), n (%)	Positive (n=498), n (%)	Total (n=48,792), n (%)
Blood transfusion
Yes	6 (0)	26 (5.2)	32 (0.1)	0.000
No	48,288 (100)	472 (94.5)	48,760 (99.9)
Dental care
Yes	4,999 (10.4)	169 (33.9)	5,168 (10.6)	0.000
No	43,295 (89.6)	329 (66.1)	43,624 (89.4)
surgical operation
Yes	101 (0.2)	43 (8.6)	144 (0.3)	0.000
No	48,193 (99.8)	455 (91.4)	48,648 (99.7)
Family history of HcV
Yes	10,711 (22.2)	157 (31.5)	10,868 (22.3)	0.000
No	37,583 (77.8)	341 (68.5)	37,924 (77.7)
Diabetes mellitus (on insulin)
Yes	61 (0.1)	38 (7.6)	99 (0.2)	0.000
No	48,233 (99.9)	460 (92.4)	48,693 (99.8)

Table 4 Anti-HCV in relation to the place of origin and place of residence

Anti- HCV	Lower Egypt, n=47,344 (97%)		Upper Egypt, n= 1,448 (3%)		P-value	Rural, n=20,057 (41.1%)		Urban, n=28,735 (58.9%)		P-value
	Male, n=21,365 (45.1%)	Female, n=25,979 (54.9%)	Male, n=6 (0.4%)	Female, n= 1,442 (99.6 %)		Male, n=10,937 (54.5%)	Female, n=9,120 (45.5%)	Male, n= 10,434 (36.3%)	Female, n= 18,301 (63.7%)
Positive	188	297	6	7	0.637	124	186	70	118	0.000
	(0.9%)	(1.1%)	(100%)	(0.5%)		(1.1%)	(2%)	(0.7%)	(0.6%)
Negative	21,177	25,682	0	1,435		10,813	8,934	10,364	18,183
	(99.1%)	(98.9%)	(0%)	(99.5%)		(98.9%)	(98%)	(99.3%)	(99.4%)
P-value	0.005		0.000			0.000		0.792

Table 5 HCV RNA-positive in relation to the place of origin and place of residence

HCV RNA	Lower Egypt, n=47,344 (97%)		Upper Egypt, n= 1,448 (3%)		P-value	Rural, n=20,057 (41.1%)		Urban, n=28,735 (58.9%)		P-value
	Male, n=21,365	Female, n=25,979	Male, n=6	Female, n= 1,442		Male, n=10,937 (54.5 %)	Female, n=9,120 (45.5%)	Male, n= 10,434 (36.3%)	Female, n= 18,301 (63.7%)
Positive	145 (0.7%)	206 (0.8%)	2(33.3%)	2 (0.1%)	0.040	91 (0.8%)	131(1.4%)	56 (0.5%)	77 (0.4%)	0.000
Negative	21,220(99.3%)	25,773(99.2%)	4(66.7%)	1,440(99.9%)		10,846(99.2%)	8,989(98.6%)	10,378(99.5%)	18,224(99.6%)
P-value	0.149		0.000			0.000		0.164