Comparison of Seroepidemiology and Transmission Modes of Viral Hepatitis C in Iran and Pakistan

Hepatitis c virus (hcv) infection is a worldwide problem in health. the seroprevalence of hcv infection is estimated tobe 3%. there is considerable geographic and temporal variation in the incidence and prevalence of hcv infection. theresearchers conducted the literature search using the electronic database medline (1966 to january 2008), embase(1980 to october 2007), ovid (1966 to october 2007) and google (for local websites and medical journals). thefollowing keywords were used: 'hepatitis c', 'epidemiology', 'iran', and 'pakistan'. hcv infection in pakistan is morecommon than in iran. the most common modes of transmission in pakistan consist of: ivds, unsafe injections,transfusion, tattooing and sharing by barbers and in iran consistsof: ivds, getting wounded in war, extramarital sexualcontact and tattooing. the hepatitis c infection is an emerging disease in both countries and requires moregovernmental support. this article reviews the literature available so far on the epidemiology and potential risks oftransmission of hcv and makes recommendations for implementing strategies for the prevention of such transmissionin our region.