The COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Hepatitis C Virus Circulation and Genotypic Frequencies-Implications for Hepatitis C Prevention, Treatment and Research

Abstract

Hepatitis C is regarded as a global health issue caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. HCV is targeted for elimination by 2030 as a global public health goal. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed human circulation and prevented access to diagnostics and treatment to many other diseases, including hepatitis C. COVID-19 impacted HCV global elimination efforts with implications not fully comprehended yet. The high genetic variability in HCV makes the development of vaccines and pan-genotypic drug therapies a difficult task. Changes in the dynamics of HCV impose new challenges for public health and opportunities for future research. Meta-analysis, the follow up of new cases and sampling of HCV patients compared with previously available data are options for investigating the possible changes. The determination of HCV genotypes and subtypes is important for understanding viral dynamics and treatment; therefore, the changes in genotype and subtype prevalences can directly affect such processes. Recent results in the literature already suggest changes in HCV dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic, both considering viral circulation and differential genotypic frequencies in distinct geographic areas. In this context, we propose a further examination of these trends using different approaches to provide support for the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic affected HCV circulation, since these findings would have important implications for hepatitis C prevention, treatment and research.

Keywords: COVID-19; HCV; circulation; hepatitis C; pandemic.

Figure 1

Relative prevalence of most common HCV genotypes by regions. Data adapted from Messina et al. [15]. For the complete data see Table 1. The size of the discs has no correlation with the total HCV incidence in regions. Figure 1 template was downloaded from Canva under a Free Media License.