Regional, Age, and Sex Patterns of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Russia: Insights from a 42,000-Participant Serosurvey

Manuylov, Victor A.; Gushchin, Vladimir A.; Chulanov, Vladimir P.; Isaeva, Olga V.; Kleymenov, Denis A.; Pochtovyi, Andrei A.; Mazunina, Elena P.; Bykonia, Evgeniia N.; Tragira, Irina N.; Simakova, Yana V.; Netesov, Sergey V.; Tkachuk, Artem P.; Semenenko, Tatyana A.; Gintsburg, Alexander L.; Kyuregyan, Karen K.; Mikhailov, Mikhail I.

doi:10.3390/v17121529

This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.

Open AccessArticle

Regional, Age, and Sex Patterns of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Russia: Insights from a 42,000-Participant Serosurvey

by

Victor A. Manuylov

^1,2,*

,

Vladimir A. Gushchin

^1,3,4

,

Vladimir P. Chulanov

^5,6,7

,

Olga V. Isaeva

^8,9,10

,

Denis A. Kleymenov

¹

,

Andrei A. Pochtovyi

^1,3

,

Elena P. Mazunina

¹

,

Evgeniia N. Bykonia

¹

,

Irina N. Tragira

¹

,

Yana V. Simakova

¹

,

Sergey V. Netesov

²

,

Artem P. Tkachuk

^1,5

,

Tatyana A. Semenenko

¹

,

Alexander L. Gintsburg

^1,11

,

Karen K. Kyuregyan

^8,9,10

and

Mikhail I. Mikhailov

^8,9

¹

Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, 123098 Moscow, Russia

²

Laboratory of Bionanotechnology, Microbiology and Virology, Department of Natural Sciences, Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia

³

Department of Medical Genetics and Postgenomic Technologies, Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education I M Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), 119991 Moscow, Russia

⁴

Department of Virology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119234 Moscow, Russia

⁵

National Medical Research Center of Phthisiopulmonology and Infectious Diseases, 127473 Moscow, Russia

⁶

Infectious Diseases Department, Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education I M Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), 119991 Moscow, Russia

⁷

Center for Precision Genetic Technologies for Medicine, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia

⁸

Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology of Viral Hepatitis, Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, 111123 Moscow, Russia

⁹

Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis, Mechnikov Research Institute of Vaccines and Sera, Moscow 105064, Russia

¹⁰

Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education, 125993 Moscow, Russia

¹¹

Department of Infectiology and Virology, Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education I M Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (Sechenov University), 119991 Moscow, Russia

Show full affiliation list

Hide full affiliation list

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Viruses 2025, 17(12), 1529; https://doi.org/10.3390/v17121529

Submission received: 7 November 2025 / Accepted: 19 November 2025 / Published: 21 November 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Hepatitis Elimination: HBV, HDV, and HCV)

Download Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

Identifying population groups at greatest risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is essential for targeting screening and treatment. We analyzed the seroprevalence of antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV) and HCV RNA in serum samples from 37,291 conditionally healthy volunteers collected between 2018 and 2022, and from 4764 individuals sampled in 2008, totaling 42,055 participants. In 2018–2022, anti-HCV prevalence varied by region, ranging from 1.1 to 1.4% in Belgorod, Moscow, and St. Petersburg to 1.8–2.1% in Dagestan, Tatarstan, Novosibirsk, Tyva, and southern Yakutia, and reaching 3.4–5.2% in Khabarovsk and the Arctic zone of Yakutia. In 2008, prevalence in Moscow, Rostov, Sverdlovsk, Tyva, and Yakutia ranged from 1.7% to 3.3%. A significant decline over time was observed: from a mean of 2.6 ± 0.5% in 2008 to 1.9 ± 0.1% in 2018–2022 (p < 0.01). In recent years, men were more frequently anti-HCV-positive than women (2.5 ± 0.2% vs. 1.5 ± 0.2%, p < 0.01), whereas no sex differences were noted in 2008. The age of a sharp prevalence increase shifted from the 20–29 cohort in 2008 to the 30–39 cohort in 2018–2022. Based on the demographic structure, we estimate ~3.23 million anti-HCV carriers in Russia. HCV RNA was detectable in only one-third of seropositive individuals, identifying them as candidates for antiviral therapy. Thus, in contemporary Russia, men aged over 30 years have the highest risk of HCV infection and should be prioritized for targeted screening.

Keywords: hepatitis C virus; anti-HCV; HCV RNA; Russian Federation; conditionally healthy population; HCV prevalence

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Manuylov, V.A.; Gushchin, V.A.; Chulanov, V.P.; Isaeva, O.V.; Kleymenov, D.A.; Pochtovyi, A.A.; Mazunina, E.P.; Bykonia, E.N.; Tragira, I.N.; Simakova, Y.V.; et al. Regional, Age, and Sex Patterns of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Russia: Insights from a 42,000-Participant Serosurvey. Viruses 2025, 17, 1529. https://doi.org/10.3390/v17121529

AMA Style

Manuylov VA, Gushchin VA, Chulanov VP, Isaeva OV, Kleymenov DA, Pochtovyi AA, Mazunina EP, Bykonia EN, Tragira IN, Simakova YV, et al. Regional, Age, and Sex Patterns of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Russia: Insights from a 42,000-Participant Serosurvey. Viruses. 2025; 17(12):1529. https://doi.org/10.3390/v17121529

Chicago/Turabian Style

Manuylov, Victor A., Vladimir A. Gushchin, Vladimir P. Chulanov, Olga V. Isaeva, Denis A. Kleymenov, Andrei A. Pochtovyi, Elena P. Mazunina, Evgeniia N. Bykonia, Irina N. Tragira, Yana V. Simakova, and et al. 2025. "Regional, Age, and Sex Patterns of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Russia: Insights from a 42,000-Participant Serosurvey" Viruses 17, no. 12: 1529. https://doi.org/10.3390/v17121529

APA Style

Manuylov, V. A., Gushchin, V. A., Chulanov, V. P., Isaeva, O. V., Kleymenov, D. A., Pochtovyi, A. A., Mazunina, E. P., Bykonia, E. N., Tragira, I. N., Simakova, Y. V., Netesov, S. V., Tkachuk, A. P., Semenenko, T. A., Gintsburg, A. L., Kyuregyan, K. K., & Mikhailov, M. I. (2025). Regional, Age, and Sex Patterns of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Russia: Insights from a 42,000-Participant Serosurvey. Viruses, 17(12), 1529. https://doi.org/10.3390/v17121529

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Article metric data becomes available approximately 24 hours after publication online.

Article Menu

Regional, Age, and Sex Patterns of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Russia: Insights from a 42,000-Participant Serosurvey

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI