Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine - Department of Periodontology

The aim of the current study was to measure frequency and risk factors of Hepatitis C infection among a sample of undiagnosed Egyptian subjects seeking dental care, as we anticipate to encounter high rates of exposure to these risks in the age groups that seeks dental care.The participants were subjected to risk factor questionnaire to assess the frequency of the exposure to these risks, and blood samples were collected from every participant who reported previous exposure to any of the risk factors. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was carried out to detect anti-HCV antibodies in the serum of exposed individuals. Socio-demographic variables and previous dental therapy for each participant were recorded, which revealed high rates of single visit therapeutic experience in different age and gender variables. Our results indicates association between increasing age, illiterate individuals and exposure to risk factors especially extra-oral surgery which has to be the only risk factor among the participants in this study who have the potential of HCV infection transmission. Different risk factors have been reported with significant association with positive anti-HCV antibodies, extra-oral surgery is the most encountered risk factor among the participants, followed by blood products transfusion in Egypt. This finding is consistent with previous community studies and seroprevalence studies carried out in Egypt in different sittings, this points out that the main exposure that correlates to HCV infection transmission among Egyptian population is invasive medical intervention

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