HEPATITIS-C - A PUBLIC-HEALTH PROBLEM IN 1994

Hepatitis C infection would be a public health problem, But a lot of incertitudes exist, Incertitude about epidemiology : about 500 000 - 2 000 000 persons HCV + has been estimated in France, The antiHCV prevalence has been reported as an average of 0,5-4% in the general population. Incertitude about transmission : parenteral transmission is essentiel : after blood transfusion or now in intravenous drug abusers; sexual transmission (0-10%), intrafamilial spread (0-8,5%), mother to child transmission, or sporadic form probably exist but remain to be elucidated. Incertitude about clinical feature : morbidity and mortality after 30 years diseases has been estimated about 12% and 5%, Incertitude about economic outcome : screening cost, follow-up cost, treatment cost. These literature data suggest that hepatitis C is a real public health problem and one good reason to look foward to future workshops.