Chronic Hepatitis C Prevalence and Physician Awareness in Southeastern Turkey

Abstract

Chronic hepatitis C (HCV) is a major global pathogen and the relevant public health problems are expected be increased in the upcoming years (1,2). Even though chronic HCV is endemic worldwide, its distribution considerably varies by geographic location (3). The highest prevalence rates are reported in Africa and Asia while the regions with low prevalence include the developed countries in North America, Northern and Western Europe, and Australia. Three percentage of world population is chronically infected with chronic HCV, representing an important cause of chronic liver diseases such as cirrhosis, liver fibrosis, hepatocellular