Zbl. Bakt., 283/2, 239-244 (1995) © Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart· Jena . New York Seroprevalence of HIV and HeV Infections in Alexandria, Egypt I. QUINTI*,2,\ E. RENGANATHAW,\ E. EL GHAZZAWI 3 , M.DIVIZIAl, G. SAwAF3, S. AWAD3, A. PANA'I, and G. ROCCHI l 1 Department of Public Health and Cell Biology, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Italy 2 Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Italy 3 Department of Microbiology, Medical Research Institute, University of Alexandria, Egypt 4 Italian-Egyptian Cooperation Project (CMT), Medical Research Institute, University of Alexandria, Egypt Received November 29,1994· Revision received March 13, 1995 . Accepted May 12, 1995 Summary During the years 1992-1994, we tested 948 individuals from different population groups for HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections by ELISA and WB and for HCV infection by ELISA. Re- peated ELISA reactivity for HIV was found in 2.12% of blood donors, 2.95% of fire bri- gade personnel and 1.61 % of prisoners. Western blotting studies, however, showed that the- se samples were non-reactive or indeterminate to either HIV-1 or HIV-2. In contrast, anti- HCV antibodies were detected in 39% of fire brigade personnel, 31.4% of prisoners and 20.8% of blood donors. The analysis of risk factors for acquiring HCV infection showed a strong association between a past history of parenteral therapy for schistosomiasis and anti- HCV seropositivity (p < 0.0001). The implementation of preventive strategies is at the mo- ment the mandatory choice to stop a further spread of the HCV infection. Meanwhile the same preventive measures could avoid spreading of the HIV disease. Introduction HIV infection and AIDS are a major public health problem worldwide, in particu- lar in countries of the developing world with their inherent socio-economic problems and poor health care facilities. In Middle Eastern and North African countries the prevalence has been low, with a more recent increase among risk groups (9). In Egypt, recent surveys have also shown very low infection rates (6), (4), (10). In contrast, a surprisingly high proportion of Egyptian blood donors as compared to donors in oth- * Corresponding author