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Comment Chronic hepatitis C is a worldwide growing health problem that has gained attention in recent years. Approximately 3% of the world’s population (130-170 million people) is chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV is one of the most prevalent blood-borne infection, with a higher prevalence than HIV (~ 1.1 million infected) and hepatitis B virus (0.8-1.4 million infected) in western countries. Chronic HCV infection progresses asymptomatically, and almost 75% of patients are unaware of the diagnosis when they presented with complications of cirrhosis, portal hypertension or develop a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) many years later. In western countries HCV infection is one of the most frequent causes of death from end stage liver diseases and HCC. In the last decade, HCV related morbidity doubled, and HCC related to HCV increased almost 3 times. Its impact on liver related morbidity and mortality is expected to reach its peak in the next decade.

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2012-11-15   |   471 visitas   |   1 valoraciones

Vol. 11 Núm.6. Noviembre-Diciembre 2012 Pags. 967-968 Ann Hepatol 2012; 11(6)