People who inject drugs (PWIDs) are primarily the high-risk population for HCV infection. This study aims to determine the optimal cut-off values for predicting HCV infection status based on the Signal-to-Cutoff (S/CO) ratio. In this study, a total of 719 PWIDs’ samples were collected, and performed for screening test by ELISA assay, and followed by RIBA assay and NAT assay to detect HCV antibody and HCV RNA levels, respectively. The findings revealed that the prevalence of HCV infection among PWIDs was 54.66% (393/719), and the false-positive rate of HCV antibody detection by ELISA assay among PWIDs was only 3.85% (16/416). In addition, when the optimal cut-off value for S/CO ratio was 2.0, the sensitivity and specificity of HCV antibody were 100.00% and 93.55%, respectively. And when the optimal cut-off value for S/CO ratio was 21.36, the sensitivity and specificity of HCV RNA positive were 89.90% and 72.73%, respectively. In conclusion, the status of HCV infection can be predicted based on the S/CO ratios of the ELISA assay, which can improve diagnosis and facilitate timely treatment to effectively prevent the spread of HCV infection.

This systematic review and meta-analysis characterizes the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among intravenous drug users (IDUs) in upper middle-income countries.

Five databases were searched from 1990–2016 for studies that took place in countries with a GDP per capita of $7,000 to $13,000 USD. The data extraction was performed based on information regarding prevalence, sample size, age of participants, duration of intravenous drug use (IDU), recruitment location, dates of data collection, study design, sampling scheme, type of tests used in identifying antibody reactivity to HCV, and the use of confirmatory tests. The synthesis was performed with a random effects model. The Cochrane statistical Q-test was used to evaluate the statistical heterogeneity of the results.

The 33 studies included in the analysis correspond to a sample of seven countries and 23,342 observations. The point prevalence value estimates and confidence intervals of the random effects model were 0.729 and 0.644–0.800, respectively for all seven countries, and were greatest for China (0.633; 0.522–0.732) as compared to Brazil (0.396; 0.249–0.564). Prevalence for Montenegro (0.416; 0.237–0.621) and Malaysia (0.475; 0.177–0.792) appear to be intermediate. Mexico (0.960) and Mauritania (0.973) had only one study with the largest prevalence. A clear association was not observed between age or duration of IDU and prevalence of HCV, but the data from some groups may indicate a possible relationship. The measures of heterogeneity (Q and I2) suggest a high level of heterogeneity in studies conducted at the country level and by groups of countries.

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we found that the pooled prevalence of HCV was high (0.729) among a group of seven upper middle income countries. However, there was significant variation in the prevalence of HCV observed in China (0.633) and Brazil (0.396).

• Female
• Hepacivirus
• Hepatitis C/economics
• Hepatitis C/epidemiology
• Humans
• Income
• Male
• Prevalence
• Socioeconomic Factors
• Substance Abuse, Intravenous/economics
• Substance Abuse, Intravenous/epidemiology

• K07 CA197179 NCI NIH HHS
• Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social

• 5-fluorouracil
• colorectal cancer
• curcumin
• drug-loaded membranes
• silk fibroin

• HBsAG - Anti-HBc - HCV - HIV - screening
• assay validation
• immunoassay
• sensitivity
• specificity

To elucidate and compare the seroprevalence of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) among Chinese drug users, a cross-sectional study of 441 participants, was conducted in Shanghai, China, from 2012 through 2013. Seventy-seven (17.5%) participants were found to be positive for HHV8 antibodies, while 271 (61.5%) participants were positive for HCV. No significant association between HHV8 seropositivity and drug use characteristics, sexual behaviors, HCV, or syphilis was observed. In contrast, a statistically significant association between HCV seropositivity and injected drug history (OR, 2.18, 95% CI 1.41–3.37) was detected, whereas no statistically significant association between HCV seropositivity and syphilis infection (OR, 7.56, 95% CI 0.94–60.57) were observed. Pairwise comparisons showed no significant differences between latent and lytic antibodies regarding HCV and HHV8 serostatus. The study demonstrated a moderate but elevated prevalence of HHV8 infection among drug users. The discordance between HHV8 and HCV infections suggests that blood borne transmission of HHV8 might not be the predominant mode of transmission in this population, which is in contrast to HCV.

• Adult
• Aged
• China/epidemiology
• Coinfection
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Drug Users
• Female
• HIV Infections/epidemiology
• Hepacivirus/classification
• Hepacivirus/isolation & purification
• Hepatitis C/epidemiology
• Herpesviridae Infections/epidemiology
• Herpesvirus 8, Human/classification
• Herpesvirus 8, Human/isolation & purification
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Risk Factors
• Seroepidemiologic Studies
• Serotyping
• Syphilis/epidemiology
• Young Adult

• P30 GM103509 NIGMS NIH HHS
• R01 CA075903 NCI NIH HHS
• D43 TW001492 FIC NIH HHS
• R01 CA75903 NCI NIH HHS

The present study investigated the association of thyroid dysfunction (TD) with the distribution of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in untreated patients. A total of 1,012 cases of HCV-infected patients were collected from different regions, of which 209 patients demonstrated a type of TD (chronic thyroiditis complicated with hyperthyroidism, chronic thyroiditis complicated with hypothyroidism, subclinical hyperthyroidism, subclinical hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism or chronic thyroiditis). The results showed the existence of geographical differences in the types of TD present with HCV infection. The female patients had a higher incidence of autoimmune-related TD than the male patients. High levels of HCV RNA expression were most common in all HCV-infected patients, regardless of the presence of TD. High and medium expression levels of HCV RNA were more prevalent in the patients with autoimmune-related TD. Relative analysis of the HCV RNA levels showed that the pathogenesis of TD was not correlated with the HCV RNA expression levels; however, it may have been associated with autoimmunity. The HCV-infected patients with TD were most commonly middle-aged, whereas young adults were the largest group of patients with HCV and normal thyroid function. Among all HCV genotypes, type 1b was the most common HCV genotype and type 2 was the second most common. Types 3 and 6 were scarce in this study population. No associations were identified between HCV genotypes and thyroid disease. The data of liver function showed that HCV-infected patients with TD had a higher liver dysfunction rate compared with that of the patients with normal thyroid function. Therefore, liver dysfunction may be associated with thyroid disease. This study supports the potential of individualized treatment for HCV-infected patients.

• Chinese population
• hepatitis type C
• liver dysfunction
• thyroid dysfunction

In the 1970s, scientists learned of a new pathogen causing non-A, non-B hepatitis. Classical approaches were used to isolate and characterize this new pathogen, but it could be transmitted experimentally only to chimpanzees and progress was slow until the pathogen was identified as hepatitis C virus (HCV) in 1989. Since then, research and treatment of HCV have expanded with the development of modern biological medicine: HCV genome organization and polyprotein processing were delineated in 1993; the first three-dimensional structure of HCV nonstructural protein (NS3 serine protease) was revealed in 1996; an infectious clone of HCV complementary DNA was first constructed in 1997; interferon and ribavirin combination therapy was established in 1998 and the therapeutic strategy gradually optimized; the HCV replicon system was produced in 1999; functional HCV pseudotyped viral particles were described in 2003; and recombinant infectious HCV in tissue culture was produced successfully in 2005. Recently, tremendous advances in HCV receptor discovery, understanding the HCV lifecycle, decryption of the HCV genome and proteins, as well as new anti-HCV compounds have been reported. Because HCV is difficult to isolate and culture, researchers have had to avail themselves to the best of modern biomedical technology; some of the major achievements in HCV research have not only advanced the understanding of HCV but also promoted knowledge of virology and cellular physiology. In this review, we summarize the advancements and remaining scotomas in the molecular virology and epidemiology of HCV.

• Hepatitis C virus
• Hepatitis C virus lifecycle
• Molecular virology
• Hepatitis C virus models
• Epidemiology

• Animals
• Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use
• Genotype
• Hepacivirus/drug effects
• Hepacivirus/genetics
• Hepacivirus/pathogenicity
• Hepatitis C/diagnosis
• Hepatitis C/drug therapy
• Hepatitis C/epidemiology
• Hepatitis C/virology
• Humans
• Phenotype
• Treatment Outcome
• Viral Proteins/genetics