Study warns of Hepatitis C 'epidemic' in Egypt

A new study released by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) has warned of an "epidemic spread" of Hepatitis C in Egypt, predicting a possible 500,000 new cases per year.

But Wahid Doss, director of the Egyptian National Committee on Viral Hepatitis, said that the study had exaggerated the threat.

“According to our most recent survey, there are only some 100,000 new cases of Hepatitis C every year,” he said.

Doss went on to point out that the proliferation rate of Hepatitis C currently stood at 9.8 percent of Egypt's total population, or eight million citizens, of which only 20 percent suffer from complications related to the virus, such as liver cirrhosis or liver failure.

The PNAS study also found that the most common cause for the spread of the virus in Egypt were unhygienic medical treatments or surgeries.

Translated from the Arabic Edition.