Hepatitis C virus

The Pakistani population is carrying the second highest burdens of chronic hepatitis in the world because of its associated mortality due to end stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma. The prevalence of HCV infection amongst the population is estimated to be 6% with an estimated 10 million people infected. Hepatitis C virus is endemic in Pakistan with the majority of risk factors being derived from a hospital or clinic based setting. The main of this review is to identify risk and protective factors in relation to patients with HCV. Relevant medical and public health literature spanning a period of 25 years 1990-2015 were designated using comprehensive literature search method. In the systematic review of 12 primary studies made up of case-control and cross-sectional studies, very important risk factors and protective factors were identified in children, women and other age groups.