915
Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 60(6), 1999, pp. 915–920
Copyright q 1999 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
EFFECT OF SCHISTOSOMIASIS AND HEPATITIS ON LIVER DISEASE
ABDEL-BASET HALIM, ROBERT F. GARRY, SRIKANTA DASH, AND MICHAEL A. GERBER*
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt; Department of Microbiology,
Tulane University Medical Center, New Orleans, Louisiana; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine,
Tulane University Medical Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Abstract.
Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) has become the most important public health problem in Egypt.
In Egypt, viral hepatitis along with infection with Schistosoma mansoni is the major cause of chronic liver disease
and liver cirrhosis. Although HCV infection is highly prevalent in Egypt, very little information is available on the
distribution of the different genotypes of HCV. Our aims in this study were first to determine the prevalence of viral
and parasite infections in patients with chronic liver disease and then to assess the distribution of HCV genotypes in
these patients. In the present study, 151 individuals (50 with chronic liver disease, 51 with chronic diseases of organs
other than the liver, and 50 apparently healthy persons) were investigated. The last 2 groups served as control groups.
These individuals were subjected to routine liver function tests and detection of serum antibodies to bilharziasis,
hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and HCV. Furthermore, the presence of hepatitis G virus (HGV) and HCV in
the serum samples were tested for by a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Prevalence of
different genotypes of HCV in patients positive for HCV were determined by RT-PCR using type-specific primers.
Results of the study revealed that 84, 74, 12, and 20% of patients with chronic liver disease were positive for
Schistosoma mansoni, HCV, HBsAg, and HGV, respectively, as compared to 51, 43.1, 2, and 4% of patients with
other chronic diseases