Prevalence of Antibody to Hepatitis C Virus in an Isolated Canadian Inuit Settlement

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology
• Main Authors: Minuk, GY, Nicolle, LE, Gauthier, T, Brunka, J
• Other Authors: Manitoba Medical Services Foundation
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1990
• Subjects: Baker Lake; inuit; Northwest Territories
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/1991/750564; http://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/cjidmm/1991/750564.pdf; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1155/1991/750564

Sera from 720 inhabitants of Baker Lake, Northwest Territories, a community with high rates of hepatitis A and B infection, were tested for antibody to hepatitis C virus by commercial enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Only two individuals (0.3%) were positive, a 63‐year‐old female and an unrelated 10‐year‐old male. Neither individual was at increased risk of hepatitis C virus exposure. The results of this study indicate that hepatitis C virus infection is no more common in this northern Canadian Inuit settlement than it is in the blood donor population of southern Canada.