Prevalence of HCV Infection in Adult Patients and Viral Response to Antiviral Treatment at Tertiary Care Center

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is currently the most significant public health problem globally and also in India. HCV is one of the leading causes of chronic hepatitis worldwide and an important risk factor for progression to advanced entities such as liver cirrhosis, hepatic decompensation, and Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). Aims and Objectives: The present study deals with prevalence of HCV infection in adult patients and determines the effectiveness of treatment with Directly Acting Anti-viral Drugs (DAA) by undetectable HCV RNA in blood at the end of treatment. Material and Methods: A total of 10,000 patients whose serum samples underwent the anti HCV ELISA testing were enrolled in the study. Anti HCV antibody production was tested by using 3rd generation ELISA and HCV RNA detection was performed by RT PCR.HCV RNA positive patients were given anti-viral treatment for 3 months. After 12 weeks of completion of treatment for HCV infection, patient’s samples were tested again for HCV RNA in plasma by RT-PCR for monitoring effectiveness of treatment. Results: The seroprevelence of HCV infection was 0.8%.The positive rate of anti –HCV antibodies were higher among males of 18-30 years of age. The most probable risk factor for HCV transmission was blood transfusion due to thalassemia which was seen in 31.25%.Among the anti-HCV positive patients, the HCV RNA positive rate was 66.25%. After the treatment with DAA in HCV RNA positive patients Sustained Virological Response (SVR) was achieved in 91% of patients. Conclusion: The seroprevelence of HCV infection was 0.8%.Approximately 66.25% of the anti-HCV positive patients also tested positive for HCV PCR. This positive correlation between serum anti-HCV and HCV PCR improve screening and facilitates timely intervention to prevent the spread of infection. And HCV PCR is highly sensitive and specific for detecting active infection and monitoring viral response after treatment with DAA.