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TITLE:

A DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH TO ASSESS THE ONSET OF HCV (HEPATITIS C VIRUS) ANTIBODIES RELEVANCE AMONG COMMUNITY BARBERSOP VISITORS

AUTHORS:

1Dr. Bilal Hassan, 2Dr Ahmad Mustafa, 2Dr. Shahid Muhammad

ABSTRACT:

Objective: Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) can potently transfer through underutilized shaving kits and blades when shared or used more than once by different users. We aimed to determine the HCV antibodies prevalence and reaction among hospitalized patients who were common visitors of roadside barbers. Methodology: Our descriptive research completed in the timeframe of July 2016 to June 2017 at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore. We studied the demographic information of the patients which included the information about educational level, marital status, occupation and age. We also documented the per month visit frequency to roadside barbers, duration and associated clinical information from the patients. We included all those participants who were visiting roadside barbers for more than three months; whereas, we did not include any patient of liver disease history, dental surgery, blood transfusion, intravenous drug users, tattooing, regular injectable medicine users, hemodialysis cases and multiple sex partners in this research. During hospitalization, we took blood samples of all the patients and screened them for antibodies of HCV through ELISA Kit. Results: Research sample consisted on one hundred and eighty-four male patients with a mean age of (33.8 ± 13.2) years. Among these patients, a number of patients were illiterate and belonged to a lower status. A total of 70 out of 184 patients (38%) were positive for HCV antibodies reactivity. Elder age group paid more visits to roadside barbers than younger age group especially under the age of forty years P-values (0.015 & 0.02). No significant association was reported among various marital status, education and socioeconomic groups in terms of HCV-antibodies reactivity prevalence. Conclusion: In the light of research outcomes, we conclude that unsterilized shaving equipment and sharing of once used razors on multiple individuals is a potent source of HCV transmission from one person to another and it may also result in an onset of HCV. Multiple shaving exposures and prolonged duration may also increase the HCV transmission rate among roadside barber visitors. Keywords: Antibodies, Hepatitis-C Virus (HCV), Roadside Barbers, Shaving Kits, Razors and Prevalence.

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