Micro‐elimination of hepatitis C through testing of Egyptian pregnant women presenting at delivery: implications for screening policies

Objectives Despite the high burden of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Egypt, screening of pregnant women is not yet universal, making national and global elimination unlikely. This study assessed the proportion of pregnant women who were screened for HCV infection at delivery, the prevalence and risk factors for HCV infection, the associated adverse neonatal outcomes, and the real‐life linkage to care of infected women and follow‐up of their infants’ HCV status and timing of testing. Methods Data were collected from medical records of a retrospective cohort of all pregnant women who were admitted to a university hospital in Cairo for delivery between January and June 2018 (n = 6734). HCV antibody‐ and RNA‐positive women and their infants were prospectively followed‐up by phone interviews till September 2019. Results 2177 (32.3%) pregnant women were screened for HCV infection. 19 (0.9%) tested HCV antibody‐ and RNA‐positive. Being ≥ 30 years old (ORa 3.6, 95% CI: 1.4–9.2; P = 0.009), history of abortion (ORa 3.5, 95% CI: 1.2–10.3; P = 0.022) and blood transfusion (ORa 29.1, 95% CI: 9.6–88.4; P