There are approximately 170 million HCV patients worldwide, and three to four million cases are newly diagnosed every year. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 3% of the world population have been infected with HCV. Infection by the HCV can cause acute and chronic liver diseases and may lead to cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma or liver failure. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major global health issue. GLOBAL EPIDEMIOLOGY OF HEPATITIS C INFECTION Future researches should focus on the interruption of vertical transmission, developments of HCV vaccine and direct-acting antivirals in infancy and early childhood. The high prevalence of global HCV infection necessitates renewed efforts in primary prevention, including vaccine development, as well as new approaches to reduce the burden of chronic liver disease. Cesarean section should not be recommended as a procedure to prevent vertical transmission, however, breastfeeding is generally not forbidden. At present, no clinical intervention has been clearly studied and proved to reduce the HCV vertical transmission risk. Multiple risk factors were shown to increase the possibility of HCV vertical transmission, including coinfections with human immunodeficiency virus, intravenous drug use and elevated maternal HCV viral load, while breastfeeding and HCV genotypes have been studied to have little impact. Though universal screening is controversial, selective antenatal HCV screening on high-risk populations is highly recommended and should be tested probably. All children born to women with anti-HCV antibodies should be checked for HCV infection. The prevalence of pediatric HCV infection varies from 0.05% to 0.36% in developed countries and between 1.8% and 5% in the developing world. Following the introduction of blood product screening, vertical transmission becomes the leading cause of childhood HCV infection. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 3% of the world population have been infected with HCV and the worldwide prevalence is between 1% and 8% in pregnant women and between 0.05% and 5% in children.
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