Health Protection Surveillance Centre, Dublin, Ireland.
Epidemiol Infect. 2012 Aug;140(8):1461-8. doi: 10.1017/S0950268811001920. Epub 2011 Sep 19.
Information on the burden of hepatitis C virus (HCV) disease is needed to inform policy decisions on primary and secondary prevention. Specimen-based laboratory data (1989-2004) were converted to person-based data and combined with notification data (2004-2009) to describe the burden of HCV infection in Ireland. More than 10,000 people were confirmed as HCV infected in 1989-2004, with the numbers peaking in 2000. The predominant genotypes were 1 (55%) and 3 (39%). Drug use was the most likely risk factor in 80%, with receipt of blood or blood products in 16%. It is estimated that 20 000-50,000 people in Ireland are chronically infected with HCV, a population prevalence of 0·5-1·2%, which is similar to other countries in Northern Europe. This is the first published estimate of the number of chronic HCV infections in Ireland. These data will be of value in health service planning and will contribute to the understanding of HCV infection in Europe.
需要有关丙型肝炎病毒 (HCV) 疾病负担的信息，以告知初级和二级预防的政策决策。基于标本的实验室数据（1989-2004 年）已转换为基于人的数据，并与通知数据（2004-2009 年）相结合，以描述爱尔兰 HCV 感染的负担。在 1989-2004 年期间，有 10000 多人被确认为 HCV 感染，2000 年达到高峰。主要基因型为 1（55%）和 3（39%）。药物使用是 80%的最可能危险因素，其中 16%是由于接受血液或血液制品。据估计，爱尔兰有 2 万至 5 万人慢性感染 HCV，人群患病率为 0.5-1.2%，与北欧其他国家相似。这是爱尔兰慢性 HCV 感染人数的首次公布估计。这些数据将对卫生服务规划具有价值，并有助于了解欧洲的 HCV 感染。
