The Epidemiology and Trend of Hepatitis C Infection in Hamadan Province: West of Iran, 2011-2016

Objectives: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a blood-borne virus which is transmitted through the exposure to small amounts of blood. The objective of this study was to investigate trend and epidemiological pattern of hepatitis C infection during seven successive years in Hamadan province during 2011-2016. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted on the new cases of HCV (n=803) who were recorded in the deputy of health of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. The Cochran-Armitage test was used to investigate the changes in the trend of the disease according to various demographical and clinical characteristics. Incidence rates of HCV were estimated by district for 2016. Results: Totally, 705 (87.8%) cases were male and 98 (79.7%) were urban dwellers and the highest proportion of the cases (51%) belonged to the age group of 25-44 years. The overall incidence rate of HCV infection in Hamadan province was 5.26 per 100.000 in 2016, while the southern counties had higher incidence rate compared to the northern parts. Only 8.1% of cases were assessed due to clinical symptoms. Conclusion: Our results showed that HCV has a decreasing trend for both genders in Hamadan province and is most prevalent among males, age group of 25-44 years, married people and urban dwellers. Therefore, educational programs for the transmission and prevention of hepatitis C in the community and for high-risk groups should be conducted with the management of health centers and mass media.