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Viruses
Special Issues
Hepatitis C Virus: From Discovery to Nobel Prize
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Hepatitis C Virus: From Discovery to Nobel Prize

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Human Virology and Viral Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 4299

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Hubert E. Blum

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
Interests: viral hepatitis; hepatitis virus A–E; liver cirrhosis; hepatocellular carcinoma; antiviral agents

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special Issue of Viruses aims to present up-to-date reviews of different aspects of chronic hepatitis C, after the discovery of hepatitis A virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis delta virus, and hepatitis E virus. Their epidemiology as well as their pathogenesis have been studied in great detail. The cause of the non-A and non-B post-transfusion hepatitis, however, remained an enigma until the hepatitis C virus was discovered in 1989 by M. Houghton and collaborators, followed by the rapid development of HCV-specific serological and molecular diagnostic assay systems, including HCV genotyping.

HCV infection is endemic worldwide, with about 185 million frequently asymptomatic individuals. It shows a significant geographic variability, with the highest prevalence rates, based on anti-HCV positivity, in North Africa, the Middle East, and Central and East Asia (>3.5%). A low prevalence of HCV infection (<1.5%) has been documented in North America, Tropical Latin America, and the Asia Pacific region.

HCV infection is the most common form of chronic viral hepatitis in the European Union. In the USA, HCV-related mortality has significantly increased between 1999 and 2007 from about 3 to about 5 per 100,000 population with the major risk factors being chronic liver disease, coinfection with HBV or HIV, and alcohol-related conditions.

After decades of interferon-based therapeutic strategies, the availability of direct acting antiviral agents (DAAs) has revolutionized the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C of any genotype with HCV elimination rates approaching 95%–100% after 12 weeks. The DAAs include protease inhibitors (e.g., telaprevir, boceprevir, asunaprevir, simeprevir, faldaprevir), non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitors (e.g., deleobuvir, filibuvir, setrobuvir, tegobuvir), NS5A inhibitors (e.g., daclatasvir, ledipasvir), and NS5B polymerase inhibitors (e.g., sofosbuvir, mericitabine).

Our ability to effectively treat chronic viral hepatitis C has resulted in a better control of this infection. It is now possible to prevent hepatitis B but not hepatitis C, and to cure hepatitis C, with the perspective to meet the World Health Organization goal of elimination of HCV infection by 2030. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine available to date.

Prof. Dr. Hubert E. Blum
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • viral hepatitis
  • hepatitis virus A–E
  • liver cirrhosis
  • hepatocellular carcinoma
  • antiviral agents

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1090 KiB  
Article
The Cascade of Care for Hepatitis C Treatment in Rwanda: A Retrospective Cohort Study of the 2017–2019 Mass Screening and Treatment Campaign
by Marie Paul Nisingizwe, Jean Damascene Makuza, Naveed Z. Janjua, Nick Bansback, Bethany Hedt-Gauthier, Janvier Serumondo, Eric Remera and Michael R. Law
Viruses 2023, 15(3), 661; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15030661 - 28 Feb 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2249
Abstract
Access to hepatitis C (HCV) testing and treatment is still limited globally. To address this, the Government of Rwanda launched a voluntary mass screening and treatment campaign in 2017. We studied the progression of patients through the cascade of HCV care during this [...] Read more.
Access to hepatitis C (HCV) testing and treatment is still limited globally. To address this, the Government of Rwanda launched a voluntary mass screening and treatment campaign in 2017. We studied the progression of patients through the cascade of HCV care during this campaign. We conducted a retrospective cohort study and included all patients screened at 46 hospitals between April 2017 and October 2019. We used hierarchical logistic regression to assess factors associated with HCV positivity, gaps in care, and treatment failure. A total of 860,801 people attended the mass screening during the study period. Some 5.7% tested positive for anti-HCV, and 2.9% were confirmed positive. Of those who were confirmed positive, 52% initiated treatment, and 72% of those initiated treatment, completed treatment and returned for assessment 12 weeks afterward. The cure rate was 88%. HCV positivity was associated with age, socio-economic status, sex, marital status, and HIV coinfection. Treatment failure was associated with cirrhosis, baseline viral load, and a family history of HCV. Our results suggest that future HCV screening and testing interventions in Rwanda and other similar settings should target high-risk groups. High dropout rates suggest that more effort should be put into patient follow-up to increase adherence to care. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hepatitis C Virus: From Discovery to Nobel Prize)
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12 pages, 953 KiB  
Article
Collaborative Referral Model to Achieve Hepatitis C Micro-Elimination in Methadone Maintenance Treatment Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic
by Chi-Ming Tai, Chun-Kai Huang, Te-Chang Changchien, Po-Chun Lin, Deng-Wu Wang, Ting-Ting Chang, Hsue-Wei Chan, Tzu-Haw Chen, Cheng-Hao Tseng, Chih-Cheng Chen, Chia-Ta Tsai, Yu-Ting Sie, Yung-Chieh Yen and Ming-Lung Yu
Viruses 2022, 14(8), 1637; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14081637 - 27 Jul 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1591
Abstract
Although hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevails in patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT), most do not receive anti-HCV therapy. This single-center observational study aimed to achieve HCV micro-elimination at an MMT center during the COVID-19 pandemic using a collaborative referral model, which comprised [...] Read more.
Although hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevails in patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT), most do not receive anti-HCV therapy. This single-center observational study aimed to achieve HCV micro-elimination at an MMT center during the COVID-19 pandemic using a collaborative referral model, which comprised a referral-for-diagnosis stage (January 2020 to August 2020) and an on-site-diagnosis stage (September 2020 to January 2021). A multidisciplinary team was established and all MMT center patients were enrolled. HCV micro-elimination was defined as >90% of HCV-infected patients diagnosed and >80% of HCV-viremic patients treated. A total of 305 MMT patients, including 275 (90.2%) anti-HCV seropositive patients, were enrolled. Among 189 HCV-infected patients needing referral, the accumulative percentage receiving HCV RNA testing increased from 93 (49.2%) at referral-for-diagnosis stage to 168 (88.9%) at on-site-diagnosis stage. Among 138 HCV-viremic patients, the accumulative percentage receiving direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy increased from 77 (55.8%) at referral-for-diagnosis stage to 129 (93.5%) at on-site-diagnosis stage. We achieved an HCV RNA testing rate of 92.4% (254/275), an HCV treatment rate of 95.8% (203/212) and a sustained virological response rate of 94.1% (191/203). The collaborative referral model is highly effective in HCV RNA testing and HCV treatment uptake among MMT patients, achieving HCV micro-elimination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hepatitis C Virus: From Discovery to Nobel Prize)
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