Review article
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF HEPATITIS C VIRAL INFECTION
Danijela Lakošeljac
; Department of Public Health, Primorsko-Goranska County Rijeka, Croatia
Tomislav Rukavina
; Deparment of microbiology and parasitology, School of Medicine University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Viral hepatitis C is infectious disease caused by hepatotropic hepatitis C virus (HCV) belonging to family Flaviviridae. The discovery of the virus has clarify the ethiology of the major part of post-transfusion non-A non-B hepatitis of unknown origin. It was determined that the virus was mainly transmitted by blood and its products by parenteral route of transmission. HCVinfected people are the only known reservoir of the virus and the source of infection for others. HCV infection is one of the most important public health problems today. It was estimated that more than 170 million individuals are infected with HCV worldvwide, most of them chronically. Chronic infection in significant proportion leads to the development of serious complications that include liver function failure, the cirrhosis development and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The prevalence of HCV infection has significantly changed since the dicovery of virus as ethiological agent of the disease primarily owing to routine testing of blood from volunteer donors on the presence of HCV infection. Today is generally accepted that the most important risk factor that contributes to the spread of HCV infection is illegal use of intravenous drugs.
Keywords
hepatitis C virus; epidemiology; incidence; prevalence; transmission; transfusions; intravenous drug use
Hrčak ID:
22562
URI
Publication date:
25.6.2007.
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