Seroprevalence of Hepatitis C Virus in Jinan, China, 2008–2020

Background: Updated estimate of anti-HCV prevalence is critical for developing strategies to manage or eliminate HCV infection. To achieve this, a comprehensive study was conducted for the seroprevalence of HCV among patients in Jinan Central Hospital, China. Methods: From 2008 to 2020, 365,210 patients were tested for anti-HCV, core antigen of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV cAg), hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), syphilis antibody (anti-TP), HIV antigen + antibody (Ag + Ab) assays, antiHAV IgM and antiHEV IgM. Results: The HCV seroprevalence was 0.79%. HCV seroprevalence is related to age distribution, the children (< 18 years) had a lower HCV seropositivity 0.15%, and among adults (≥ 18 years) was 0.81%. A increasing prevalence of HCV was found in adults aged greater than or equal to 41 years, the HCV seropositivity for those aged between 41 to 80 accounted for 74.56% of all seropositiveindividuals. Surprisingly, rate of HCV-HIV co-infection was 0. The HCV seroprevalence of patients in Kidney Disease Unit & Dialysis Department was much higher than patients in other departments, whether in inpatients or outpatients. Conclusions A lower HCV seroprevalence in Jinan, but a higher HCV seroprevalence in Kidney Disease Unit & Dialysis Department, especially in patients on hemodialysis.