[Descriptive epidemiology of hepatitis C virus infection in France in 1996].

This paper on the epidemiological aspects of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in France presents the risk factors of the ways of contamination (transfusion, drug addiction, nosocomial, professional or sexual contamination, familial or mother-to-infant transmission). The estimated prevalence of HCV infection in France is comprised between 500,000 and 650,000 individuals, i.e. slightly above one percent of the French population. The epidemiological contribution of the study of HCV genotypes and the biological means evidencing HCV transmission are detailed, as well as the actual evolution of the HCV epidemy in France.