HCV IN SAUDI ARABIA

Epidemiology of Hepatitis C Virus Genotype in Saudi Patients - Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Hepatitis C is one of the major causes of chronic liver disease in Saudi Arabia. When the disease enters from the acute into the chronic stage it cause liver cancer, cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis which increases the mortality rate. The prevalence of HCV varies greatly all over the world. It has different genotypes and subtypes. In Saudi Arabis the two genotypes are more common 1 and 4. Hepatitis C is found to be endemic in Arabian coutries. The risk factors are almost the same but the epidemiology is affected by the geophragical location, the community living standard and general lifestyle. All over the world the major causative agent is the infected blood of the patient when comes in direct contact with the healthy person. The treatment advancement has helped to control the disease but still the vaccine has not been developed. For this several studies have been conducted on sequence variation of the virus, and how the alterations in amino acids can be implemented in the discovery of the disease. Twenty articles were selected through the electronic research on pub-med. The inclusion was only based on 6 articles related to the topic. Out of secondary researches 6 articles were also included as a part of this review.

Keywords: Hepatitis C, Saudi Arabia, Epidemiology, Virus Genotype, Prevalence

Epidemiology of Hepatitis C Virus Genotype in Saudi Patients-Saudi Arabia

Introduction

Hepatitis C is a liver disease and the causative agent is Hepatitis C virus. The disease can be acute or chronic; the severity of the disease also varies from mild illness and symptoms lasting over few weeks, and the disease can also become severe and life threatening. The transfer of Hepatitis C virus is mainly through the blood of infected person when it comes in contact with a person who is not infected (CDC, 2013). The spread also takes place by the use of infected needles and anything which comes in direct contact with the infected person's blood. Before the screening of blood was mandatory the transfer of virus also takes place through organ transplant and blood transfusions. The transfer can also take place through the use syringes and injections used by an infected person. An infant born to a carrier mother of Hepatitis C is also most likely to suffer from the disease as it is blood borne. Breast milk and other body secretions like saliva, sweat and urine do not contribute in the spread of Hepatitis C virus. Casual contact like hugging, touching, kissing, sharing eatables and other equipment do not spread the disease. Sexual contact with an infected person may or may not become the cause of transfer of the virus (WHO, 2013).

Hepatitis C virus may produce the disease condition that could be either “acute' or “chronic”. Acute is defined as the short term illness and the symptoms start to appear within the initial 6 months of the disease onset. The person on exposure to the virus in acute ...