PREVALENCE OF ANTI-HCV IN NORWEGIAN BLOOD-DONORS WITH ANTI-HBC OR INCREASED ALT LEVELS

Testing for hepatitis B core antibodies (anti‐HBc) was performed in 12,104 consecutive blood donors, 139 (1.15%) of whom were found to be positive. The first 6036 donors were also screened for ALT; 91 (1.51%) had repeatedly elevated values. ALT screening was of no help in detecting anti‐HBc‐positive donors. Those with anti‐HBc or repeatedly raised ALT levels were further tested for hepatitis C virus antibodies (anti‐HCV), and 3 (2.16%) and 1 (1.10%) anti‐HCV‐positive donors were detected, respectively. This prevalence of anti‐HCV (0.5%) is not significantly different from that found in 1000 unselected donors at our blood bank. Testing for ALT and anti‐HBc as surrogate markers for hepatitis C is therefore not recommended in Norwegian blood donors and should be replaced by anti‐HCV screening. 1990 AABB