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

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases
• Main Authors: GY Minuk, LE Nicolle, T Gauthier, J Brunka
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases 1991
• Subjects: Northwest Territories; Canada; Baker Lake; inuit
• Online Access: https://doi.org/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.