Hepatitis C, Comparison of clinical and virological characteristics between individuals in high- and no-endemicity areas, Current Information On Hepatitis C & treatments for the medical professional and patient

table 1. Comparison of clinical and virological characteristics between individuals in high- and no-endemicity areas

Characteristic	No. (%) of patients in area of:		P
Characteristic	High endemicity (n = 200)	No endemicity (n = 200)	P

History of:
Surgical operation	50 (25.0)	45 (22.5)	>0.2
Blood transfusion	14 (7.0)	20 (10.0)	>0.2
Folk remedy	91 (45.5)	54 (27.0)	0.0001
HBs antigen	4 (2.0)	2 (1.0)	>0.2^a
HBs antibody	50 (25.0)	36 (18.0)	0.0884
HBc antibody	54 (27.0)	38 (19.0)	0.0573
Any HBV marker	64 (32.0)	42 (21.0)	0.0127
HCV RNA	50 (25.0)	3 (1.5)	<0.0001
HCV antibody	64 (32.0)	5 (2.5)	<0.0001
Any HCV marker	64 (32.0)	5 (2.5)	<0.0001
HGV RNA	9 (4.5)	2 (1.0)	0.0323
HGV-E2 antibody	58 (29.0)	10 (5.0)	<0.0001
Any HGV marker	63 (31.5)	12 (6.0)	<0.0001

^a Obtained by Fisher’s exact test; all other P values were obtained by the chi-square test.