[The hepatitis C virus]

Abstract

Since 1989, when Choo and coworkers identified a new virus, i.e. virus C, as the responsible for most cases of hepatitis non-A, non-B, an impressive number of articles upon the biology, epidemiology and physiopathology of this virus has been published. The aim of this review is to summarize the most important and recent progress on C hepatitis virus such as the genotype heterogeneity, phenotype-genotype correlations, infection diffusion and pathology. Moreover, the clinical history of the illness, diagnostic methods, correlation between different clinical syndromes, such as autoimmune disorders, porphyria, cryoglobulinemia and finally the therapeutic strategies based on interferon supply, are pointed out.