Epidemiology, transmission, diagnosis, and outcome of Hepatitis C virus infection
Keywords:
Epidemiology; Hepatitis C; Outcome; PrevalenceAbstract
Hepatitis C infection is one of the main causes of chronic liver disorders worldwide. Nearly three percent (3%) of the world population has an HCV infection. Prevalence of HCV infection was higher in some groups such as injected drug users (IDUs) and HIV positive populations. Acute hepatitis has proven asymptomatic in most cases, and delay of diagnosis might lead to late onset of hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis. Some host characteristics such as age, gender, body mass index, and viral properties are associated with HCV outcome hepatitis. Although disease progression is typically slow, some risk factors such as alcohol abuse and coinfection of patients with HBV and HIV can worsen the disease. On the other hand, viral overload is one of the main causes of prediction of HCV infection outcome. Prevalence of HCV infection will increase if we do not consider means of transmission, virus behaviors, and immunologic responses. Rapid diagnostic tests can help us to create preventive strategies among undeveloped villages and prisoners. Screening and training of the high-risk population such as IV drug users, dialysis patients, and hemophiliacs must be one of main HCV preventive programs. The present review is intended to help health policymakers to design suitable preventive and management programs.
References
Szabo E, Lotz G, Paska C, Kiss A, Schaff Z. Viral hepatitis: new data on hepatitis C infection. Pathol
Oncol Res. 2003; 9(4): 215-21. doi: PAOR.2003.9.4.0215. PMID: 14688826.
Thomson EC, Fleming VM, Main J, Klenerman P, Weber J, Eliahoo J, et al. Predicting spontaneous
clearance of acute hepatitis C virus in a large cohort of HIV-1-infected men. Gut. 2011; 60(6): 837-45. doi:
1136/gut.2010.217166. PMID: 21139063, PMCID: PMC3095479.
Hajarizadeh B, Grebely J, Dore GJ. Epidemiology and natural history of HCV infection. Nat Rev
Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2013; 10(9): 553-62. doi: 10.1038/nrgastro.2013.107. PMID: 23817321.
Zaltron S, Spinetti A, Biasi L, Baiguera C, Castelli F. Chronic HCV infection: epidemiological and clinical
relevance. BMC Infect Dis. 2012; 12(2): S2. doi: 10.1186/1471-2334-12-S2-S2. PMID: 23173556,
PMCID: PMC3495628.
Bezemer G, Van Gool AR, Verheij-Hart E, Hansen BE, Lurie Y, Esteban JI, et al. Long-term effects of
treatment and response in patients with chronic hepatitis C on quality of life. An international, multicenter,
randomized, controlled study. BMC gastroenterol. 2012; 12: 11. doi: 10.1186/1471-230X-12-11. PMID:
, PMCID: PMC3293759.
Merat S, Rezvan H, Nouraie M, Jafari E, Abolghasemi H, Radmard AR, et al. Seroprevalence of hepatitis
C virus: the first population-based study from Iran. Int J Infect Dis. 2010; 14(3): 113-6. doi:
1016/j.ijid.2009.11.032. PMID: 20362479.
Hartleb M, Gutkowski K, Zejda JE, Chudek J, Wiecek A. Serological prevalence of hepatitis B virus and
hepatitis C virus infection in the elderly population: Polish nationwide survey--PolSenior. Eur J
Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2012; 24(11): 1288-95. doi: 10.1097/MEG.0b013e328357632a. PMID: 22864260.
Nguyen LH, Nguyen MH. Systematic review: Asian patients with chronic hepatitis C infection. Aliment
Pharmacol Ther. 2013; 37(10): 921-36. doi: 10.1111/apt.12300. PMID: 23557103.
Mondelli MU, Cerino A, Cividini A. Acute hepatitis C: diagnosis and management. J Hepatol. 2005; 42(1):
-14. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2004.10.017. PMID: 15777565.
Habibollahi P, Safari S, Daryani NE, Alavian SM. Occult hepatitis B infection and its possible impact on
chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Saudi J Gastroenterol. 2009; 15(4): 220-4. doi: 10.4103/1319- 3767.56089. PMID: 19794265, PMCID: PMC2981836.
Gower E, Estes C, Blach S, Razavi-Shearer K, Razavi H. Global epidemiology and genotype distribution of
the hepatitis C virus infection. J Hepatol. 2014; 61(1): 45-57. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2014.07.027. PMID:
Kamal SM, Nasser IA. Hepatitis C genotype 4: What we know and what we don’t yet know. Hepatology.
; 47(4): 1371-83. doi: 10.1002/hep.22127. PMID: 18240152.
Zhao L, Feng Y, Xia XS. [The different epidemic and evolution of HCV genotypes]. Yi Chuan. 2012;
(6): 666-72. doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1005.2012.00666. PMID: 22698736.
Kabir A, Alavian SM, Keyvani H. Distribution of hepatitis C virus genotypes in patients infected by
different sources and its correlation with clinical and virological parameters: a preliminary study. Comp
Hepatol. 2006; 5: 4. doi: 10.1186/1476-5926-5-4. PMID: 17014721, PMCID: PMC1599752.
Zarkesh-Esfahani SH, Kardi MT, Edalati M. Hepatitis C virus genotype frequency in Isfahan province of
Iran: a descriptive cross-sectional study. Virol J. 2010; 7: 69. doi: 10.1186/1743-422X-7-69. PMID:
, PMCID: PMC2852391.
Mousavi SF, Moosavy SH, Alavian SM, Eghbali H, Mahboobi H. Distribution of hepatitis C virus
genotypes among patients with hepatitis C virus infection in hormozgan, iran. Hepat Mon. 2013; 13(12):
e14324. doi: 10.5812/hepatmon.14324. PMID: 24403914, PMCID: PMC3877657.
Jane P. Messina, Isla Humphreys, Abraham Flaxman, Anthony Brown, Graham S. Cooke, Oliver G. Pybus,
et al. Global Distribution and Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Genotypes. Hepatology. 2015; 61 (1):77-87,
doi: 10.1002/hep.27259
WHO. Hepatitis C: WHO. Available from: http://www.who. Int/media Centre/factsheets/fs164/en/
Mohd Hanafiah K, Groeger J, Flaxman AD, Wiersma ST. Global epidemiology of hepatitis C virus
infection: new estimates of age-specific antibody to HCV seroprevalence. Hepatology. 2013; 57(4): 1333- 42. doi: 10.1002/hep.26141. PMID: 23172780.
Wasley A, Alter MJ. Epidemiology of hepatitis C: geographic differences and temporal trends. Semin Liver
Diss. 2000; 20(1): 1-16. PMID: 10895428.
Shepard CW, Finelli L, Alter MJ. Global epidemiology of hepatitis C virus infection. Lancet Infect Dis.
; 5(9): 558-67. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(05)70216-4. PMID: 16122679.
Grebely J, Prins M, Hellard M, Cox AL, Osburn WO, Lauer G, et al. Hepatitis C virus clearance,
reinfection, and persistence, with insights from studies of injecting drug users: towards a vaccine. Lancet
Infect Dis. 2012; 12(5): 408-14. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(12)70010-5. PMID: 22541630, PMCID:
PMC3608418.
Loomba R, Rivera MM, McBurney R, Park Y, Haynes-Williams V, Rehermann B, et al. The natural
history of acute hepatitis C: clinical presentation, laboratory findings and treatment outcomes. Aliment
Pharmacol Ther. 2011; 33(5): 559-65. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2010.04549.x. PMID: 21198704.
Micallef JM, Kaldor JM, Dore GJ. Spontaneous viral clearance following acute hepatitis C infection: a
systematic review of longitudinal studies. J Viral Hepat. 2006; 13(1): 34-41. doi: 10.1111/j.1365- 2893.2005.00651.x. PMID: 16364080.
Maasoumy B, Wedemeyer H. Natural history of acute and chronic hepatitis C. Best Pract Res Clin
Gastroenterol. 2012; 26(4): 401-12. doi: 10.1016/j.bpg.2012.09.009. PMID: 23199500.
O'Brien SF, Yi QL, Fan W, Scalia V, Kleinman SH, Vamvakas EC. Current incidence and estimated
residual risk of transfusion-transmitted infections in donations made to Canadian Blood Services.
Transfusion. 2007; 47(2): 316-25. doi: 10.1111/j.1537-2995.2007.01108.x. PMID: 17302779.
Kermode M. Unsafe injections in low-income country health settings: need for injection safety promotion
to prevent the spread of blood-borne viruses. Health Promot Int. 2004; 19(1): 95-103. PMID: 14976177.
Benova L, Mohamoud YA, Calvert C, Abu-Raddad LJ. Vertical transmission of hepatitis C virus:
systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Infect Dis. 2014; 59(6): 765-73. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciu447. PMID:
, PMCID: PMC4144266.
Kiyosawa K, Sodeyama T, Tanaka E, Nakano Y, Furuta S, Nishioka K, et al. Hepatitis C in hospital
employees with needlestick injuries. Ann Intern Med. 1991; 115(5): 367-9. PMID: 1907441.
Ridzon R, Gallagher K, Ciesielski C, Ginsberg MB, Robertson BJ, Luo CC, et al. Simultaneous
transmission of human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C virus from a needle-stick injury. The New
England journal of medicine. 1997; 336(13): 919-22. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199703273361304. PMID:
Siddique K, Mirza S, Fizza S, Idriss Anwar T, Zafar A. Knowledege Attitude and Practice reading needle
stick Injuries among health care Provider. Pakistan journal surgery. 2008; 24(4).
Terrault NA. Sexual activity as a risk factor for hepatitis C. Hepatology. 2002; 36(5 Suppl 1): S99-105. doi:
1053/jhep.2002.36797. PMID: 12407582.
Zamani F, Sohrabi M, Poustchi H, Keyvani H, Saeedian FS, Ajdarkosh H, et al. Prevalence and risk factors
of hepatitis C virus infection in amol city, north of iran: a population-based study (2008-2011). Hepat Mon.
; 13(12): e13313. doi: 10.5812/hepatmon.13313. PMID: 24358039, PMCID: PMC3867021.
Neumann AU, Lam NP, Dahari H, Gretch DR, Wiley TE, Layden TJ, et al. Hepatitis C viral dynamics in
vivo and the antiviral efficacy of interferon-alpha therapy. Science. 1998; 282(5386): 103-7. doi:
1126/science.282.5386.103. PMID: 9756471.
Alavi SM, Behdad F. Seroprevalence study of hepatitis C and Hepatitis B virus among hospitalized
intravenous drug users in Ahvaz, Iran (2002-2006). Hepat Mon. 2010; 10(2): 101-4. PMID: 22312381,
PMCID: PMC3270351.
Deutsch M, Papadopoulos N, Hadziyannis ES, Koskinas J. Clinical characteristics, spontaneous clearance
and treatment outcome of acute hepatitis C: a single tertiary center experience. Saudi J Gastroenterol. 2013;
(2): 81-5. doi: 10.4103/1319-3767.108479. PMID: 23481134, PMCID: PMC3632015.
Hoofnagle JH. Course and outcome of hepatitis C. Hepatology. 2002; 36(5 Suppl 1): S21-9. doi:
1053/jhep.2002.36227. PMID: 12407573.
Ward JW. The hidden epidemic of hepatitis C virus infection in the United States: occult transmission and
burden of disease. Top Antivir Med. 2013; 21(1): 15-9. PMID: 23596274.
Chen SL, Morgan TR. The natural history of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Int J Med Sci. 2006; 3(2):
-52. doi: 10.7150/ijms.3.47. PMID: 16614742, PMCID: PMC1415841.
Doyle JS, Hellard ME, Thompson AJ. The role of viral and host genetics in natural history and treatment of
chronic HCV infection. Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol. 2012; 26(4): 413-27. doi:
1016/j.bpg.2012.09.004. PMID: 23199501.
Thein HH, Yi Q, Dore GJ, Krahn MD. Estimation of stage-specific fibrosis progression rates in chronic
hepatitis C virus infection: a meta-analysis and meta-regression. Hepatology. 2008; 48(2): 418-31. doi:
1002/hep.22375. PMID: 18563841.
El-Serag HB, Rudolph KL. Hepatocellular carcinoma: epidemiology and molecular carcinogenesis.
Gastroenterology. 2007; 132(7): 2557-76. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2007.04.061. PMID: 17570226.
Rahman A, Rizvi SD, Sheikh ZI. Frequency of HCV infection in different dermatological disorders. J Ayub
Med Coll Abbottabad. 2012; 24(2): 58-61. PMID: 24397054.
Khattab MA, Eslam M, Alavian SM. Hepatitis C virus as a multifaceted disease: a simple and updated
approach for extrahepatic manifestations of hepatitis C virus infection. Hepat Mon. 2010; 10(4): 258-69.
PMID: 22312391, PMCID: PMC3271318.
Pawlotsky JM. Use and interpretation of virological tests for hepatitis C. Hepatology. 2002; 36(5 Suppl 1):
S65-73. doi: 10.1053/jhep.2002.36815. PMID: 12407578.
Recommendations for prevention and control of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and HCV-related
chronic disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MMWR Recomm Rep. 1998; 47(RR-19): 1- 39. PMID: 9790221.
Ghany MG, Strader DB, Thomas DL, Seeff LB. Diagnosis, management, and treatment of hepatitis C: an
update. Hepatology. 2009; 49(4): 1335-74. doi: 10.1002/hep.22759. PMID: 19330875.
Richter SS. Laboratory assays for diagnosis and management of hepatitis C virus infection. J Clin
Microbiol. 2002; 40(12): 4407-12. PMID: 12454127, PMCID: PMC154655.
Chevaliez S, Pawlotsky JM. Hepatitis C virus: virology, diagnosis and management of antiviral therapy.
World J Gastroenterol. 2007; 13(17): 2461-6. PMID: 17552030, PMCID: PMC4146765.
AASLD/IDSA HCV Guidance Panel. Hepatitis C guidance: AASLD-IDSA recommendations for testing,
managing, and treating adults infected with hepatitis C virus. Hepatology. 2015; 62(3): 932-54. doi:
1002/hep.27950. PMID: 26111063.
Esmat G, Elsharkawy A, El Akel W, Fouad A, Helal K, Mohamed MK, et al. Fibroscan of chronic HCV
patients coinfected with schistosomiasis. Arab J Gastroenterol. 2013; 14(3): 109-12. doi:
1016/j.ajg.2013.07.001. PMID: 24206738.
Ng J, Wu J. Hepatitis B- and hepatitis C-related hepatocellular carcinomas in the United States: similarities
and differences. Hepat Mon. 2012; 12(10 HCC): e7635. doi: 10.5812/hepatmon.7635. PMID: 23233865,
PMCID: PMC3517810.
Lavillette D, Morice Y, Germanidis G, Donot P, Soulier A, Pagkalos E, et al. Human serum facilitates
hepatitis C virus infection, and neutralizing responses inversely correlate with viral replication kinetics at
the acute phase of hepatitis C virus infection. J Virol. 2005; 79(10): 6023-34. doi: 10.1128/JVI.79.10.6023- 6034.2005. PMID: 15857988, PMCID: PMC1091689.
Domagalski K, Pawlowska M, Tretyn A, Halota W, Pilarczyk M, Smukalska E, et al. Impact of IL-28B
polymorphisms on pegylated interferon plus ribavirin treatment response in children and adolescents
infected with HCV genotypes 1 and 4. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2013; 32(6): 745-54. doi:
1007/s10096-012-1799-z. PMID: 23314745, PMCID: PMC3657089.
Scott JD, Gretch DR. Molecular diagnostics of hepatitis C virus infection: a systematic review. Jama. 2007;
(7): 724-32. doi: 10.1001/jama.297.7.724. PMID: 17312292.
Bukh J, Miller RH, Purcell RH. Genetic heterogeneity of hepatitis C virus: quasispecies and genotypes.
Seminars in liver disease. 1995; 15(1): 41-63. doi: 10.1055/s-2007-1007262. PMID: 7597443.
Thomas DL, Thio CL, Martin MP, Qi Y, Ge D, O'Huigin C, et al. Genetic variation in IL28B and
spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C virus. Nature. 2009; 461(7265): 798-801. doi: 10.1038/nature08463.
PMID: 19759533, PMCID: PMC3172006.
Gourlain K, Soulier A, Pellegrin B, Bouvier-Alias M, Hezode C, Darthuy F, et al. Dynamic range of
hepatitis C virus RNA quantification with the Cobas Ampliprep-Cobas Amplicor HCV Monitor v2.0 assay.
J Clin Microbiol. 2005; 43(4): 1669-73. doi: 10.1128/JCM.43.4.1669-1673.2005. PMID: 15814982,
PMCID: PMC1081339.
Chakravarti A, Verma V. Prevalence of HBV and HCV in patients with chronic liver disease: A study from
Northern India. Indian journal of medical microbiology. 2005; 23: 273-4.
Hsi E, Huang CF, Dai CY, Juo SH, Chou WW, Huang JF, et al. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells
microRNA predicts treatment outcome of hepatitis C virus genotype 1 infection. Antiviral Res. 2014; 105:
-42. doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2014.03.003. PMID: 24637254.
Grek M, Piekarska A, Bartkowiak J, Fendler W, Kuydowicz J, Wroblewski P, et al. Coordinated increase
of miRNA-155 and miRNA-196b expression correlates with the detection of the antigenomic strand of
hepatitis C virus in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Int J Mol Med. 2011; 28(5): 875-80. doi:
3892/ijmm.2011.748. PMID: 21750860.
AASLD/IDSA HCV Guidance Panel. Hepatitis C guidance: AASLD-IDSA recommendations for testing,
managing, and treating adults infected with hepatitis C virus. Hepatology. 2015; 62(3): 932-54. doi:
1002/hep.27950. PMID: 26111063.
Soriano V, Poveda E, Vispo E, Labarga P, Rallon N, Barreiro P. Pharmacogenetics of hepatitis C. J
Antimicrob Chemother. 2012; 67(3): 523-9. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkr506. PMID: 22194301.
Ge D, Fellay J, Thompson AJ, Simon JS, Shianna KV, Urban TJ, et al. Genetic variation in IL28B predicts
hepatitis C treatment-induced viral clearance. Nature. 2009; 461(7262): 399-401. doi:
1038/nature08309. PMID: 19684573.
Su X, Yee LJ, Im K, Rhodes SL, Tang Y, Tong X, et al. Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in
interferon signaling pathway genes and interferon-stimulated genes with the response to interferon therapy
for chronic hepatitis C. J Hepatol. 2008; 49(2): 184-91. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2008.04.011. PMID: 18571276,
PMCID: PMC2609954.
Weich V, Herrmann E, Chung TL, Sarrazin C, Hinrichsen H, Buggisch P, et al. The determination of GGT
is the most reliable predictor of nonresponsiveness to interferon-alpha based therapy in HCV type-1
infection. J Gastroenterol. 2011; 46(12): 1427-36. doi: 10.1007/s00535-011-0458-y. PMID: 21912897.
Everhart JE, Wright EC. Association of gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) activity with treatment and
clinical outcomes in chronic hepatitis C (HCV). Hepatology. 2013; 57(5): 1725-33. doi:
1002/hep.26203. PMID: 23258530, PMCID: PMC3624035.
Petta S, Camma C, Scazzone C, Tripodo C, Di Marco V, Bono A, et al. Low vitamin D serum level is
related to severe fibrosis and low responsiveness to interferon-based therapy in genotype 1 chronic hepatitis
C. Hepatology. 2010; 51(4): 1158-67. doi: 10.1002/hep.23489. PMID: 20162613.
White JH. Vitamin D metabolism and signaling in the immune system. Rev Endocr Metab Disord. 2012;
(1): 21-9. doi: 10.1007/s11154-011-9195-z. PMID: 21845364.
Davila JA, Morgan RO, Richardson PA, Du XL, McGlynn KA, El-Serag HB. Use of surveillance for
hepatocellular carcinoma among patients with cirrhosis in the United States. Hepatology. 2010; 52(1): 132- 41. doi: 10.1002/hep.23615. PMID: 20578139, PMCID: PMC3835698.
Trinchet JC, Ganne-Carrie N, Nahon P, N'Kontchou G, Beaugrand M. Hepatocellular carcinoma in patients
with hepatitis C virus-related chronic liver disease. World J Gastroenterol. 2007; 13(17): 2455-60. PMID:
, PMCID: PMC4146764.
Branda M, Wands JR. Signal transduction cascades and hepatitis B and C related hepatocellular carcinoma.
Hepatology. 2006; 43(5): 891-902. doi: 10.1002/hep.21196. PMID: 16628664.
El-Serag HB. Hepatocellular carcinoma. N Engl J Med. 2011; 365(12): 1118-27. doi:
1056/NEJMra1001683. PMID: 21992124.
Abbas Z, Siddiqui AU, Luck NH, Hassan M, Mirza R, Naqvi A, et al. Prognostic factors of survival in
patients with non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma: hepatitis C versus miscellaneous etiology. J Pak
Med Assoc. 2008; 58(11): 602-7. PMID: 19024130.
Crissien AM, Frenette C. Current management of hepatocellular carcinoma. G Gastroenterol Hepatol (N
Y). 2014; 10(3): 153-61. PMID: 24829542, PMCID: PMC4014047.
Donato F, Tagger A, Gelatti U, Parrinello G, Boffetta P, Albertini A, et al. Alcohol and hepatocellular
carcinoma: the effect of lifetime intake and hepatitis virus infections in men and women. Am J Epidemiol.
; 155(4): 323-31. PMID: 11836196.
Raza A, Sood GK. Hepatocellular carcinoma review: current treatment, and evidence-based medicine.
World J Gastroenterol. 2014; 20(15): 4115-27. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i15.4115. PMID: 24764650, PMCID:
PMC3989948.
McCaughan GW, Omata M, Amarapurkar D, Bowden S, Chow WC, Chutaputti A, et al. Asian Pacific
Association for the Study of the Liver consensus statements on the diagnosis, management and treatment of
hepatitis C virus infection. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2007; 22(5): 615-33. doi: 10.1111/j.1440- 1746.2007.04883.x. PMID: 17444847.
Everson GT, Kulig CC. Antiviral therapy for hepatitis C in the setting of liver transplantation. Curr Treat
Options Gastroenterol. 2006; 9(6): 520-9. PMID: 17081485.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 KNOWLEDGE KINGDOM PUBLISHING
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.