Prevalence of antibody to hepatitis C virus in an isolated Canadian Inuit settlement

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Minuk, GY, Nicolle, LE, Gauthier, T, Brunka, J
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: Pulsus Group Inc 1991
Subjects:
Brief Report
Canada
Northwest Territories
Baker Lake
inuit
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3327993
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22529713
Description
Summary: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.

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