Abstract
Present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV, HCV) among the general population of a village population in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir area in Pakistan. Randomly selected male and female individuals of 5 to 70 years of age were screened for anti-body test for HCV and HBV. The samples found positive for virus related antigen and antibody were further investigated for the presence of viral RNA and DNA in the plasma using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). HCV positive samples were further analyzed for the genotypes. Total 520 individuals (250 males and 270 females) from general population who willingly participated in the screening process were included in the study. Prevalence and the type of virus, the age, sex, history of exposure and the previous surgical of the participants was also investigated. 7.5% of participants were found positive against HCV antibody and only 0.96% were positive for HBV surface antigen. Among the individuals positive for HCV-PCR, the genotype 3a was the most prevalent, whereas genotypes 2a, 1b, 3b and an unidentified strain were also found. It is concluded that PCR based analysis along with concomitant Hl3sAg and anti-HCV testing permits diagnosis HBV and HCV infections.