A systematic review of hepatitis C virus epidemiology in Europe, Canada and Israel

Abstract

Background and Aim: Decisions on public health issues are dependent on reliable epidemiological data. A comprehensive review of the literature was used to gather country-specific data on risk factors, prevalence, number of diagnosed individuals and genotype distribution of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in selected European countries, Canada and Israel. Methodology: Data references were identified through indexed journals and non-indexed sources. In this work, 13 000 articles were reviewed and 860 were selected based on their relevance. Results: Differences in prevalence were explained by local and regional variances in transmission routes or different public health measures. The lowest HCV prevalence ( 0.5%) estimates were from northern European countries and the highest (Z3%) were from Romania and rural areas in Greece, Italy and Russia. The main risk for HCV transmission in countries with wellestablished HCV screening programmes and lower HCV prevalence was injection drug use, which was associated with younger age at the time of infection and a higher infection rate among males. In other regions, contaminated glass syringes and Keywords diagnosis -epidemiology -HCV -hepatitis C -incidence -mortality -prevalence Conclusion: Despite the eradication of transmission by blood products, HCV infection continues to be one of the leading blood-borne infections in the region.Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a major health burden in Europe. Recent data suggest that patients with CHC have a higher overall morbidity and mortality (1, 2). A significant portion of liver transplantation in Europe is attributable to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma because of CHC (3). The socioeconomic impact of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is tremendous. The incidence of complications of CHC will not decline over the next 10 years despite improved efficacy of antiviral therapy because most patients with CHC remain undiagnosed (4). Prevention of new infections, HCV screening and early treatment have the potential to reduce the overall morbidity and mortality. However, the cost-effectiveness of HCV screening may depend on the HCV prevalence (5). Decisions on public health issues such as HCV screening and prevention measures are dependent on reliable epidemiological data regarding HCV prevalence and transmission routes. The epidemiological status in Europe is continuously evolving and may vary significantly among the different regions throughout Europe (6). Thus, different countries may need different strategies to reduce the overall burden of HCV infection.Because epidemiological data are the basis for the development of preventive measures, we aimed to systematically identify, review and characterize HCV epidemiology throughout Europe. We included Canada and Israel in our analysis because their healthcare systems and the epidemiological situation are similar to many European countries. MethodsA comprehensive review of the literature was used to gather country-specific data on risk factors, prevalence, number of diagnosed...

Functionally conserved architecture of hepatitis C virus RNA genomes

“…We examined genome-length synthetic RNA transcripts from three molecular HCV clones H77c, Con1, and JFH1. H77 and Con1 correspond to HCV genotypes 1a and 1b, respectively, share 80% sequence identity, and represent HCV strains accounting for the majority of infections worldwide (27). JFH1 represents genotype 2a (27) and shares only 70% sequence identity with Significance Plus-sense RNA viruses cause diverse pathologies in humans.…”

“…H77 and Con1 correspond to HCV genotypes 1a and 1b, respectively, share 80% sequence identity, and represent HCV strains accounting for the majority of infections worldwide (27). JFH1 represents genotype 2a (27) and shares only 70% sequence identity with Significance Plus-sense RNA viruses cause diverse pathologies in humans. Viral RNA genomes are selected to encode information both in their primary sequences and in their higher-order tertiary structures required to replicate and to evade host immune responses.…”

Pricing of forthcoming therapies for hepatitis C in Europe: beyond cost-effectiveness?

“…Thus, not surprisingly, prevalence data on hepatitis C are scarce in Europe and vary a lot from one country to another, ranging from [3 % in Italy to [1 % in France [3,4].…”

850 a Gaussia Luciferase Cell-Based System to Assess the Infection of Cell Culture- And Serum-Derived Hepatitis C Virus

“…The other nonstructural proteins (NS proteins) include the viroporin ion channel p7, the NS2-3 protease, the NS3 dual-function protein (serine protease and helicase), the NS4A polypeptide, the NS5A phosphoprotein and the NS5B RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) [3]. There are six distinct HCV genotypes and multiple subtypes [4]; among these genotypes there exist clusters of global distribution, with types 1a and 1b being the most common, accounting for about 60% of global infections [5].…”