Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C in India

465

Hepatitis C in India
ASHIS MUKHOPADHYA
Department of gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore 632 004, India (Fax, 91-416-2232035; E-mail, ashis@cmcvellore.ac.in) Hepatitis C is an emerging infection in India and an important pathogen causing liver disease in India. The blue luck of chronicity of this blood-borne infection and its association with hepatocellular carcinoma underscores its public health importance. kin transfusion and unsafe therapeutic interventions by infected needles are two preventable modalities of spread of hepatitis C infection. In addition, risk factor modi?cation by reducing the number of intravenous medicine users will help curtail the prevalence of this infection. This review summarizes the extent, temperament and implications of this relatively new pathogen in causing disease in India.
[Mukhopadhya A 2008 Hepatitis C in India; J. Biosci. 33 465473]

1.

Introduction

Hepatitis C was ?rst observe in 1989 using molecular biology techniques after drawn-out testing of serum from experimentally infected animals (Choo et al 1989). It was posterior characterized to be an RNA virus that belongs to the Flaviviridae family and genus Hepacivirus.



Ever since its discovery it became agnise that this virus was the major cause of acute hepatitis after a blood transfusion that was neither related to hepatitis A nor to hepatitis B (hence the early name for this disease, non-A, non-B hepatitis). It has been estimated that the global prevalence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is around 2%, with 170 million persons inveterate infected with the virus and 3 to 4 million persons fresh infected each year (Shepard et al 2005). It is now astray recognized as one of the mutual aetiological agents for cirrhosis of the liver of the liver. It is the leading cause of liver transplantation and the most common chronic blood borne infection in developed countries desire the USA. The impact of this infection is just emerging in...If you want to string a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com



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