Frequently, when people have hepatitis C virus infection, diabetes is often not taken into consideration. Surprisingly, these two conditions are much more closely linked than people think. The association in thehepatitis C and diabetes remains unclear and controversial in various publications. In Nigeria, the prevalence of hepatitis C virus in diabetic patients is not well documented. This study aimed is to determine prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and its circulating genotypes among diabetic patients attend the Federal Medical Center, Keffi, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Three hundred and ninety-eight (398) blood samples were collected from consenting diabetic patients aged 24-64. These were 231 male patients and 167 female patients. A structured questionnaire was used to gather socio-demographic information from the patients. Blood samples from each participant were tested for HCV antibodies using a rapid test kit and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). 7 samples tested positive in a rapid test, while 5 were confirmed positive using ELISA. All samples that tested positive for anti-HCV antibodies underwent genotyping using type-specific PCR primers. The prevalence of HCV infection in diabetic patients tested was (1.3%). In diabetis status, male subjects had a higher prevalence of (1.3%) compared to female subjects (1.2%). The gender differences were statistically insignificant (p>0.05). Additionally, the study found that HCV genotypes 2, 3 and 4 were circulating in the population, with genotypes 2 and 4 being more frequent. The major risk factors observed in the study included a history of surgery, blood transfusion, and sexually transmitted diseases. Giving these findings, it is recommended that a larger study be conducted to gather more epidemiological data on the prevalence of HCV among diabetic patients in Nigeria.
