Volume 66 - 2003 - Fasc.1 - Expert Point of View
Hepatitis C : Screening, treatment and prevention Practical guidelines
Hepatitis C is a major health problem worldwide. According to the WHO. there are an estimated 170 mil- lion people infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) (1). In Belgium, the prevalence of hepatitis C is approximately 1% (2). Blood transfusion used to be a major risk factor for acquiring HCV infection before screening for anti- bodies to HCV in the early nineties (in Belgium : from 01.07.1990 on). Injection drug use is now the most fre- quently identified risk factor for acquiring this infection. Thirty seven to 98 % of the intravenous drug users are seropositive for HCV (3,4).
