Taking a Lookat Hepatitis C Virus - 1718 Words

Globally, an estimated 150 million people have been infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV is the major cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer and one of the most common indications for liver transplantation (Simmonds, 2004).There is serious concern about the growing problem of the HIV and HCV prevalence in Africa, where the major route of transmission of HIV is through the sexual route. Co-infection with HCV and HIV is common due to shared routes of transmission – via blood and blood products and sharing of needles for injecting drugs. About 40 million people are estimated to be infected with HIV worldwide of which approximately 4-5 million are co-infected with HCV (Alter, 2006). Co-infection with HIV and HCV are common due to shared routes of transmission, however, there are differences in the ways that these viruses are transmitted in the developed and developing countries (Ocama and Seremba, 2011). Burden of HIV and HCV co-infections in Africa There have been a number of studies in Africa that have investigated the prevalence of HIV and HCV co-infections in various countries in Africa. Generally, the distribution of HIV and HCV co infections in different regions of Africa differs by countries. The prevalence of HIV and HCV co-infections range from as low as 0% to 99.7% (Table 1). The Northern African region for example is the most affected by HCV with Egypt having prevalence rates as high as 20% in the general population (WHO, 2003) in contrast, there was no