ArticleBMJ open2019
Screening a nation for hepatitis C virus elimination: a cross-sectional study on prevalence of hepatitis C and associated risk factors in the Rwandan general population.
Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative Impact of Active Versus Passive Surveillance on Hepatitis C Virus Testing Uptake, Diagnosis and Linkage to Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH · 2026Pooled it
- Insights into the spatial epidemiology of hepatitis C infection: systematic synthesis of area-level determinants and spatiotemporal analyses.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Epidemiological and clinical profile of viral hepatitis B and C among adult patients attending Hepatitis clinic at Rwanda Military Referral and Teaching Hospital: a retrospective cross-sectional study.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Tools Needed to Support Same-Day Diagnosis and Treatment of Current Hepatitis C Virus Infection.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Prevalence of hepatitis B and C infection and linkage to care among patients with Non-Communicable Diseases in three rural Rwandan districts: a retrospective cross-sectional study.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Real-world treatment outcome of direct-acting antivirals and patient survival rates in chronic hepatitis C virus infection in Eritrea.Scientific reports · 2023Observational
- Article
- Initiation of hepatitis C treatment in two rural Rwandan districts: a mobile clinic approach.BMC infectious diseases · 2021Article
- Article
- Costing analysis of field implementation of hepatitis C case detection in rural Maung Russey operational district, Cambodia.Western Pacific surveillance and response journal : WPSARArticle
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesWe analysed data collected during programmatic screening activities conducted in 2017 to describe hepatitis C virus (HCV) seroprevalence in the general population and identify associated factors.
designWe analysed data collected between June and September 2017. For both seroprevalence and viraemia, variations across demographic and geographic factors were assessed and multivariate regression models were fit to identify factors independently associated with each marker. Geospatial data were examined for visualisation.
settingHCV screening was organised within each of the 30 districts in Rwanda. One designated location in each district was selected as the screening site and screening took place for 1 week at each site.
participantsThis study included 124 223 male and female volunteers. Anti-HCV-positive individuals were followed up with HCV RNA viral load (VL) testing for infection confirmation.
main outcome measuresTwo markers were examined: the presence of HCV antibodies and HCV RNA VL.
resultsAmong 124 223 individuals screened, 11 003 (8.86%, 95% CIs: 8.70% to 9.02%) were positive for anti-HCV. Anti-HCV prevalence varied by age with the oldest age group (>55 year olds) having a prevalence of 16.46% (95% CIs: 16.14% to 16.80%) and the youngest age group (<25 year olds) having a prevalence of 2.20% (95% CIs: 1.93% to 2.50%) (crude OR=8.78). After adjustment for covariates, an association remained between anti-HCV prevalence and age (p<0.001), province (p<0.001) and socioeconomic status (p<0.001). Of the 3771 anti-HCV-positive individuals who had an available HCV RNA VL result, 2099 (55.66%, 95% CI: 54.06% to 57.25%) had a detectable HCV RNA VL. Age was also associated with HCV viraemia (p<0.001).
conclusionResults suggest that over 55% of individuals who screened positive for HCV-antibodies were chronically infected. Targeted screening for HCV among older individuals is recommended, given the association between age and infection. Further geographical hotspots of HCV infection can also inform targeted screening as Rwanda moves towards HCV elimination.
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