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. 1994 Dec;113(3):529–536. doi: 10.1017/s0950268800068540

Hepatitis C virus infection in Iceland: a recently introduced blood-borne disease.

A Löve 1, B Stanzeit 1
PMCID: PMC2271308  PMID: 7527781

Abstract

This study demonstrates a very high prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus among Icelandic intravenous (i.v.) drug users. Of 152 identified i.v. drug users 95 (63%) were shown to have antibodies to the hepatitis C virus. In contrast the seroprevalence in the general Icelandic population is low, (0.2%). Almost all cases of hepatitis C virus infection in Iceland are due to i.v. drug use or to use of infected blood or blood products. Sporadic cases with unexplained modes of transmission, a significant portion of hepatitis C infections elsewhere, are virtually non-existent in Iceland. The results of this study are consistent with the hypothesis that the sporadic community-acquired cases could be caused by blood transfer due to bites from insect vectors such as mosquitoes which are not found in Iceland.

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Selected References

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