Registry to Understand Patient characteristics, Treatment Patterns and Therapy Outcomesin Adults with Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infectionis a liver disease caused by hepatitis C virus. The global prevalence of HCVinfection has been found to be 2.5% (177.5 million HCV-infected cases). The HCVprevalence rates in Asia, Africa and Europe are 2.9% (26.9 million cases), 2.8%(111.6 million cases), 1.8% (13 million cases), respectively. The HCVprevalence rate in Central Asia and Eastern Europe that encompass the CISregions has been noted to be 5.8%, and 3.1%, respectively. A wide variation hasbeen noted in the prevalence rates of HCV infection, and the distribution ofthe seven genotypes (GT) of HCV among the various regions within eachcontinent. Another epidemiological challenge is the paucity of data related to GTdistribution in some extended regions in Asia, Africa, and some of the CISregions. Several other patient-, government-, payer-, and provider levelbarriers have also been identified in Asia, Africa, and CIS regions, which mayaffect the treatment strategies and subsequent outcomes of HCV management.These barriers are further fueled by the lack of adequate documentation of thetreatment practices and outcomes in these regions.

 The need of the hour is thedevelopment of a data base of the disease and patient characteristics; genotypedistribution; treatment patterns and compliance; and the outcomes of thetreatment of HCV infection in Asia, Africa and CIS regions. An understanding ofall these parameters would help in addressing the potential barriers to HCVmanagement in these regions.