Epidemiology of HCV infection in the Central European region

Petr Urbánek; Pavol Kristian; Michael Makara; Bela Hunyady; Krzysztof Tomasiewicz

doi:10.5114/ceh.2016.58849

Epidemiology of HCV infection in the Central European region

Clin Exp Hepatol. 2016 Mar;2(1):2-6. doi: 10.5114/ceh.2016.58849. Epub 2016 Mar 24.

Authors

Petr Urbánek¹, Pavol Kristian², Michael Makara³, Bela Hunyady⁴, Krzysztof Tomasiewicz⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, 1 Medical Faculty, Charles University and Central Military Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic.
² Department of Infectology and Travel Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of P. J. Safarik, Kosice, Slovak Republic.
³ United Saint Istvan and Saint Laszlo Hospital, Saint Laszlo Hospital Outpatient Clinic, Budapest, Hungary.
⁴ Central Outpatient Clinic, Saint Laszlo Hospital, Budapest, Hungary.
⁵ Department of Infectious Diseases, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.

Abstract

Opinion leaders in each of four countries in the Central European region summarize the available data on hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemiology. The overall prevalence of anti-HCV antibody reactivity in this region varies between 0.2% and 2.1%, the most prevalent HCV genotype is GT 1. The commonest route of transmission is intravenous drug abuse at present.

Keywords: hepatitis C virus; prevalence.

Publication types

Review