Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), which currently affects about 2% of the global population, is a major challenge for the region, an expert from Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) has said.
“About 150mn people are chronically infected and at risk of developing liver cirrhosis and/or liver cancer, and more than 350,000 people die from HCV-related liver diseases every year,” Dr Laith Abu-Raddad told a community health forum on Tuesday.
Addressing the monthly Medicine & U health outreach programme at WCMC-Q, he dwelt on the situation in Egypt, which has the highest HCV prevalence in the world with about 15% of its population infected with the virus.
HCV, a major cause of liver disease and liver cancer, is usually spread through the sharing of infected needles, receiving infected blood and other exposures to blood or bodily fluids. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that every year, 3-4 mn people are newly infected with HCV.
