Alternative risk factors of HCV infection in a rural community in China

SUMMARYA case-control study was conducted in Linxian, Henan Province in China to explore potential risk factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection unassociated with injection drug use. One hundred and ninety-two persons (41·7% male, 95·8% aged >60 years) were recruited from an earlier cohort. Of these, 48 were HCV positive and 144 HCV negative. Residence in a plain region and 3–10 injections in a health setting per year were significantly associated with HCV in both univariate and multivariate analysis (P<0·01). In rural China, the geographic distribution of HCV infection was heterogeneous and associated with injections in a health setting, a pattern which differed from the epidemics in injection drug users in urban cities.