Hepatitis C Virus Infection: Current Trends in Host Pathogen Interactions, Diagnostics and Treatment

Hepatitis C virus, first identified in the year 1989, a positive sense RNA virus, causes liver inflammation and is parenterally transmitted. With a genomic size of 9.6 kb, HCV is a member of the genus Hepacivirus and family Flaviviridae. It has eight genotypes (1–8) and many subtypes. HCV genotype 1 is majorly prevalent as compared to the other genotypes. HCV is known to be present in all the WHO regions with approximately 170 million carriers worldwide. HCV is a biosafety level-2 pathogen with an incubation period of 2–26 weeks, known to cause chronic hepatitis as well as acute hepatitis, both of which develop through several stages, such as acute self-resolving hepatitis, asymptomatic carrier stage, chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and at last, hepatocellular carcinoma. It mainly causes infection in humans and primarily replicates in the hepatocytes. Majority of acute infection cases, i.e., 50–85% progress towards a chronic state; hence, early diagnosis is pertinent. Currently, extremely efficient direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) can be used to treat HCV. Screening the high-risk populations, such as intravenous drug users, hemodialysis patients, blood donors, etc., can stop the spread of this virus. Prevention includes safe injection and infection control practices. Vaccines against HCV are under investigation which would help in further restricting the spread of the virus.