Hepatitis C virus genotype 1 is most prevalent worldwide

Non-genotype 1 Infections Comprise over 50 percent of all HCV Cases

2014-07-28

(Press-News.org) In one of the largest prevalence studies to date, researchers from the U.K. provide national, regional, and global genotype prevalence estimates for the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Findings published in Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, indicate that genotype 1 is the most prevalent worldwide, with over 83 million patients infected of which one-third reside in East Asia. Genotype 3, at just over 54 million cases, is the next most prevalent, followed by genotypes 2, 4, 6, and 5.

Despite efforts to control HCV, it remains one of the most prevalent diseases globally, with up to 150 million patients living with chronic infection according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Previous research shows that chronic HCV leads to the development liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or liver cancer, liver failure and death. WHO reports that 350,000 to 500,000 deaths each year are caused by liver diseases related to HCV.

"While the HCV infection rate is decreasing in developed countries, deaths from liver disease secondary to HCV will continue increasing over the next 20 years," explains lead co-author Dr. Jane Messina with the University of Oxford in the U.K. "Understanding the global trends in the genetic makeup of HCV is the focus of our study and imperative in developing new treatment strategies that may save millions of lives around the world."

Researchers identified 1,217 medical studies between 1989 (the year HCV was discovered) and 2013 that reported HCV genotypes. The data were then combined with HCV prevalence estimates from the WHO Global Burden of Disease project. Roughly 90% of the global population, representing 117 countries was included in this study.

Analysis shows that HCV genotype 1 is the most prevalent at 46% of all HCV cases, followed by genotype 3 at 30%; genotypes 2, 4, and 6 with a combined total of 23% and genotype 5 at less than 1%. Researchers highlight that genotypes 1 and 3 are most dominant regardless economic status, but found lower-income countries had larger concentrations of genotypes 4 and 5.

Dr. Eleanor Barnes with the University of Oxford adds: "The testing of new therapeutics is still dependent upon knowledge of viral genotype. Non-genotype 1 HCV, comprises more than half of all HCV cases. Our study provides evidence of genotype prevalence for specific countries and regions that will help improve access to new viral therapies to combat HCV."

INFORMATION: Monday, July 28, 2014 is World Hepatitis Day—a day organized by WHO to increase awareness and understanding of viral hepatitis.

This study is published in Hepatology. Media wishing to receive a PDF of this article may contact sciencenewsroom@wiley.com.

Full citation: "The Global Distribution and Prevalence of HCV Genotypes." Jane P. Messina, Isla Humphreys, Abraham Flaxman, Anthony Brown, Graham S. Cooke, Oliver G. Pybus and Eleanor Barnes. Hepatology; (DOI: 10.1002/hep.27259) Online Publicatione: July 28, 2014.

URL Upon Publication: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/hep.27259

Author Contacts: Media wishing to speak with Drs. Barnes or Messina may contact Carole Scott carole.scott@oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk; +44 1865 287438 or Sally-Anne Stewart at sally-anne.stewart@oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk; +44 1865 287429.

About the Journal Hepatology is the premier publication in the field of liver disease, publishing original, peer-reviewed articles concerning all aspects of liver structure, function and disease. Each month, the distinguished Editorial Board monitors and selects only the best articles on subjects such as immunology, chronic hepatitis, viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, genetic and metabolic liver diseases and their complications, liver cancer, and drug metabolism. Hepatology is published on is published by Wiley on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). For more information, please visit http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hep.

About Wiley Wiley is a global provider of content-enabled solutions that improve outcomes in research, education, and professional practice. Our core businesses produce scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, reference works, books, database services, and advertising; professional books, subscription products, certification and training services and online applications; and education content and services including integrated online teaching and learning resources for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners.

Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE: JWa, JWb), has been a valued source of information and understanding for more than 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Wiley and its acquired companies have published the works of more than 450 Nobel laureates in all categories: Literature, Economics, Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, and Peace. Wiley's global headquarters are located in Hoboken, New Jersey, with operations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. The Company's website can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com.

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

Hepatitis C virus genotype 1 is most prevalent worldwide 2

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New species of mayfly discovered in India

2014-07-28

Scientists have discovered a new species of mayfly in the southern Western Ghats, a mountain range along the west coast of India. In fact, this is the first time that any mayfly belonging to the genus Labiobaetis has been collected in peninsular India. The new species, called Labiobaetis soldani, "is named in honor of Dr. T. Soldan for his substantial contribution to the understanding of the Ephemeroptera of Palaearctic and Oriental realms," according to the authors of a study that describes the new mayfly in the Journal of Insect Science. The larvae have light-brown ...

Scientists discover new, noncommittal mechanism of drug resistance

2014-07-27

DURHAM, N.C. -- Microorganisms like bacteria and fungi can evade treatment by acquiring mutations in the genes targeted by antibiotics or antifungal drugs. These permanent mutations were once thought to be the only way for drug-resistant strains to evolve. Now a new study has shown that microorganisms can use a temporary silencing of drug targets -- known as epimutations -- to gain the benefits of drug resistance without the commitment. Though the new mechanism was discovered in a fungus called Mucor circinelloides, it is likely to be employed by other fungi as well as ...

Study: Climate change and air pollution will combine to curb food supplies

2014-07-27

Many studies have shown the potential for global climate change to cut food supplies. But these studies have, for the most part, ignored the interactions between increasing temperature and air pollution — specifically ozone pollution, which is known to damage crops. A new study involving researchers at MIT shows that these interactions can be quite significant, suggesting that policymakers need to take both warming and air pollution into account in addressing food security. The study looked in detail at global production of four leading food crops — rice, wheat, corn, ...

Drugs used to treat lung disease work with the body clock

2014-07-27

Scientists from The University of Manchester have discovered why medication to treat asthma and pneumonia can become ineffective. The findings, published in Nature Medicine, show that drugs widely used to treat lung diseases work with the body clock. In the UK pneumonia, which is caused by an infection, affects around 1 in 1000 adults each year and is more serious for babies, young children, the elderly, smokers and those with an underlying health condition. More than 5 million people in the UK are affected by asthma and the NHS spends around £1 billion a year ...

New drug target can break down cancer's barrier against treatment

2014-07-27

CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists at Barts Cancer Institute have found that targeting a molecule in blood vessels can make cancer therapy significantly more effective, according to research published in Nature today (Sunday). The team at Barts Cancer Institute, part of Queen Mary University of London, have found that a molecule, called focal adhesion kinase (FAK), signals the body to repair itself after chemotherapy or radiotherapy, which kill cancer cells by damaging DNA. When the researchers removed FAK from blood vessels that grew in melanoma or lung cancer models, both ...

Stanford team achieves 'holy grail' of battery design: A stable lithium anode

2014-07-27

Engineers across the globe have been racing to design smaller, cheaper and more efficient rechargeable batteries to meet the power storage needs of everything from handheld gadgets to electric cars. In a paper published today in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, researchers at Stanford University report that they have taken a big step toward accomplishing what battery designers have been trying to do for decades – design a pure lithium anode. All batteries have three basic components: an electrolyte to provide electrons, an anode to discharge those electrons, and ...

New tools help neuroscientists analyze 'big data'

2014-07-27

In an age of "big data," a single computer cannot always find the solution a user wants. Computational tasks must instead be distributed across a cluster of computers that analyze a massive data set together. It's how Facebook and Google mine your web history to present you with targeted ads, and how Amazon and Netflix recommend your next favorite book or movie. But big data is about more than just marketing. New technologies for monitoring brain activity are generating unprecedented quantities of information. That data may hold new insights into how the brain works ...

NIH scientists find 6 new genetic risk factors for Parkinson's

2014-07-27

Using data from over 18,000 patients, scientists have identified more than two dozen genetic risk factors involved in Parkinson's disease, including six that had not been previously reported. The study, published in Nature Genetics, was partially funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and led by scientists working in NIH laboratories. "Unraveling the genetic underpinnings of Parkinson's is vital to understanding the multiple mechanisms involved in this complex disease, and hopefully, may one day lead to effective therapies," said Andrew Singleton, Ph.D., a ...

Surgical safety program greatly reduces surgical site infections for heart operations

2014-07-27

New York City (Sunday July 27 – 11:45 am ET): A common postoperative complication after open heart operations—infection at the surgical site—has been reduced by 77 percent at a Canadian hospital through its participation in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®), according to a new case study presented at the 2014 ACS NSQIP National Conference. Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, reportedly reduced its rate of cardiac surgical site infections (SSIs) using a "best practices bundle," or combination ...

Study shows epigenetic changes can drive cancer

2014-07-26

Houston -- Cancer has long been thought to be primarily a genetic disease, but in recent decades scientists have come to believe that epigenetic changes – which don't change the DNA sequence but how it is 'read' – also play a role in cancer. In particular DNA methylation, the addition of a methyl group (or molecule), is an epigenetic switch that can stably turn off genes, suggesting the potential to cause cancer just as a genetic mutation can. Until now, however, direct evidence that DNA methylation drives cancer formation was lacking. Researchers at the USDA/ARS Children's ...

Hepatitis C virus genotype 1 is most prevalent worldwide

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: