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HCV genotype 1 most prevalent worldwide with 83.4 million cases
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Hepatitis C virus genotype 1 is the most prevalent with 83.4 million infections accounting for 46.2% of all cases worldwide, according to new research data.
“While the HCV [hepatitis C virus] infection rate is decreasing in developed countries, deaths from liver disease secondary to HCV will continue increasing over the next 20 years,” researcher Jane P. Messina, PhD, department of zoology at the University of Oxford, said in a press release. “Understanding the global trends in the genetic makeup of HCV is the focus of our study and imperative in developing new treatment strategies that may save millions of lives around the world.”
Messina and colleagues reviewed 1,217 studies published between 1989 and 2013 in an effort to compile the first survey of global HCV genotype prevalence. They tabulated HCV cases for each genotype in 117 countries with data encompassing 90% of the world’s population. They combined that data with estimates of overall HCV prevalence based on WHO’s Global Burden of Disease regions.
Genotype 1 had the highest prevalence estimates (83.4 million; 46.2%), with East Asia accounting for more than one-third of cases. Genotype 3 was the second most common with 54.3 million (30.1%) global infections, around 75% of which occur in South Asia. The next most prevalent were genotypes 2 (16.5 million; 9.1%; primarily in East Asia), 4 (15 million; 8.3%; North Africa and the Middle East) and 6 (9.8 million; 5.4%; East Asia). Countries classified by WHO as high-income had 66% of genotype 1 cases compared with a relatively high prevalence of genotypes 4 (18.5%) and 5 (5.9%) in low income countries.
“The testing of new therapeutics is still dependent upon knowledge of viral genotype,” investigator Eleanor Barnes, PhD, University of Oxford, said in the press release. “Our study provides evidence of genotype prevalence for specific countries and regions that will help improve access to new viral therapies to combat HCV.”
Disclosure: Graham S. Cooke, MD, PhD, consults for Gilead Sciences, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Boehringer Ingelheim.
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