HCV Elimination Campaign and Risk Factors of HCV Infection in Arkhangai Province in Mongolia

Background: Most viral hepatitis deaths in 2015 were due to chronic liver disease (720,000 deaths due to cirrhosis) and primary liver cancer (470,000 deaths due to hepatocellular carcinoma). Mongolia has a relatively high sero-prevalence of HCV nationally, approximately 6% (CDA Foundation/Polaris Observatory). Mongolia has a large burden of viral hepatitis, especially chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, which are associated with cancer and cirrhosis. Methods: All adults aged 40 - 65 years being tested for anti-HCV antibodies during the campaign of Arkhangai province. Risk assessment survey questionnaire that includes about behavioral and clinical factors potentially associated with HCV infection was used for optioning data. Statistical analysis that was done using SPSS version 21 was used for data analyzed. The relevant parametric and nonparametric tests were used for data analysis. Result: All 17,601 surveyed of individuals were tested for HCV by using ELISA test for detecting the anti-HCV Ab; 3289 of them were positive and 3049 of them had detected a viral load test. Most of screened population was female (9095, 52.0%), mainly herdsman (7206, 40.9%), married (15,425, 87.6%), educated secondary level school (11,997, 68.2%) and aged between (9289, 52.8%). Significantly high number of female (60.6%), retired people (31.4%), single (13.8%) and people aged 55 - 59 years (21.6%) were infected more HCV-positive than other groups. Patients with HCV were more likely than uninfected individuals to have undergone any kind of surgery, wound and bloodletting treatment in life time. In addition, individual’s job plays important role to get infected with HCV. Only 914 (5.2%) individuals were reported that had no risk factors. 16.6 percent of screened individual were reported they had at least 3 types of risk factors. In total 10,524 individuals were reported that they had more than 4 risk factors to possibility to getting infected with HCV. Conclusion: In total, 19.5 percent of screened individuals had anti-HCV antibody, and most of them was not known not only mothers and sexual partners but also own infection to HCV. Mongolian prevalence of anti-HCV was relatively high. As would be predicted based on accepted risk factors, HCV-positive participants were more likely to have used injection at the non-medical environment, and had any kind of dental procedure, received blood transfusion, been shared needles/injection at the non-hospital environment. Also variety of personal behaviors like having any kind of tattoos influenced significantly to infected to HCV.