Burden of parasitic infection and its impact on growth of children with hepatitis C Virus

Background: Egypt showed high infection rates of intestinal parasites especially in the rural areas. Children suffering of HCV are considered immunocompromised which makes them vulnerable to a wide spectrum of parasitic infections. The aim of the study is to assess the impact of different protozoa and helminthes infection on growth of children with hepatitis C virus infection (HCV). Materials and methods:This study was conducted at National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt and included 115 children who proved to have HCV infection by PCR. In addition, 144 non-HCV infected children were enrolled as control group. Both groups were clinically assessed and investigated for the presences of parasites infestation and their effects on growth in HCV infected children. Results: Percentage of helminthes’ infection in the HCV infected children’s was significantly higher than that of the control group (P = 0.001). Parasitic infections have negative impacts on growth in HCV infected children. In HCV children co-infected with parasites, the weight and height percentiles were significantly lower compared to those HCV infected group without parasitic infection (P = 0.001, 0.002; respectively). In HCV-infected groups, there was a significant positive correlation of albumin with weight percentile (r = 0.318 and p= 0.000) and height percentile (r = 0.316 and p= 0.000). Conclusions: Children with hepatitis C virus infection are vulnerable to parasitic infections. Parasitic co-infection of HCV affected children has a negative impact on their growth and general health.