The seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) among 559,890first-time volunteer blood donors in China reflects regionalheterogeneity in HCV prevalence and changes in blood donorrecruitment models

摘要

Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major and growing public health problem. Globally, approximately 170 million people are infected with HCV; however, the prevalence varies greatly among countries, from 0.2% to 26%.1'6 The rapid global spread of HCV is believed to have occurred primarily because of efficient transmission through blood transfusion and parenteral exposures with contaminated equipment.7 In countries where HCV antibody screening and nucleic acid amplification testing (NAT) are mandatory for all blood donors, new HCV-infected donors often have a history of injecting illicit drugs, contaminated medical procedures, or other parenteral exposures. Risk