Author/Authors :
Rikabi, A. Hamad General Hospital - Hamad Medical Corporation - 1Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Qatar , Bener, A. Hamad General Hospital - Hamad Medical Corporation - Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, Qatar , Al-Marri, A. Hamad General Hospital - Hamad Medical Corporation - Department of Immunology, Qatar , Al-Thani, S. Hamad General Hospital - Hamad Medical Corporation - Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Qatar
Abstract :
We investigated the incidence of hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) virus infection amongpatients with liver disease in Qatar from 2000 to 2005. The grading and staging of HBV and HCVcases were obtained from pathology reports at the principal reference laboratory for Qatar. Of the 915liver patients studied, 29.4% had HCV and 2.5% had HBV. The incidence of HBV and HCV infectionwas greater in non-Qataris than Qatari nationals and in males than females, especially for HCV. Mostcases were uncomplicated (89.0%) and had no inflammation (76.4%). The incidence of HCV has beenincreasing in liver patients in recent years up to a rate of 481 per 1000 patients with liver disease in2005.
