{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,25]],"date-time":"2026-04-25T01:49:48Z","timestamp":1777081788743,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Wiley","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2017,1,1]],"date-time":"2017-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1483228800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Pan African University"},{"name":"Japan International Corporation Agency"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["BioMed Research International"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2017]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>In Rwanda, the prevalence of viral hepatitis (HCV) is poorly understood. The current study investigated the prevalence and risk factors of HCV infection in Rwanda. A total of 324 patients attending Rwanda Military Hospital were randomly selected and a questionnaire was administered to determine the risk factors. Blood was collected and screened for anti-HCV antibodies and seropositive samples were subjected to polymerase chain reaction method. Hematology abnormalities in the HCV infected patients were also investigated. Anti-HCV antibody and active HCV infection were found in 16.0% and 9.6% of total participants, respectively. Prevalence was highest (28.4%; 19\/67) among participants above 55 years and least (2.4%; 3\/123) among younger participants (18\u201335 years). There was a significant (<mml:math xmlns:mml=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" id=\"M1\"><mml:mi>P<\/mml:mi><mml:mo>=<\/mml:mo><mml:mn fontstyle=\"italic\">0.031<\/mml:mn><\/mml:math>) relationship between place of residence and HCV infection with residents of Southern Province having significantly higher prevalence. The hematological abnormalities observed in the HCV infected patients included leukopenia (48.4%; 15\/52), neutropenia (6.5%; 2\/52), and thrombocytopenia (25.8%; 8\/52). The HCV infection was significantly higher in the older population (&gt;55 years) and exposure to injection from traditional practitioners was identified as a significant (<mml:math xmlns:mml=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\" id=\"M2\"><mml:mi>P<\/mml:mi><mml:mo>=<\/mml:mo><mml:mn fontstyle=\"italic\">0.036<\/mml:mn><\/mml:math>) risk factor of infection. Further studies to determine the factors causing the high prevalence of HCV in Rwanda are recommended.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1155\/2017\/5841272","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,1,26]],"date-time":"2017-01-26T17:03:49Z","timestamp":1485450229000},"page":"1-7","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":22,"title":["Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Infection and Its Risk Factors among Patients Attending Rwanda Military Hospital, Rwanda"],"prefix":"10.1155","volume":"2017","author":[{"given":"Esperance","family":"Umumararungu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Institute of Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation (PAUISTI), Pan African University, P.O. Box 6200-00200, Nairobi, Kenya"},{"name":"Rwanda Military Hospital, P.O. Box 3377, Kanombe, Kigali, Rwanda"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Fabien","family":"Ntaganda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rwanda Military Hospital, P.O. Box 3377, Kanombe, Kigali, Rwanda"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5513-2113","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"John","family":"Kagira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Institute of Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation (PAUISTI), Pan African University, P.O. Box 6200-00200, Nairobi, Kenya"},{"name":"Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Nairobi, Kenya"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7577-5140","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Naomi","family":"Maina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Institute of Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation (PAUISTI), Pan African University, P.O. Box 6200-00200, Nairobi, Kenya"},{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, School of Biomedical Sciences, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), P.O. 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