Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a liver disease caused by hepatitis C virus. The global prevalence of HCV infection has been found to be 2.5% (177.5 million HCV-infected cases). The HCV prevalence rates in Asia, Africa and Europe are 2.9% (26.9 million cases), 2.8% (111.6 million cases), 1.8% (13 million cases), respectively. The HCV prevalence rate in Central Asia and Eastern Europe that encompass the CIS regions has been noted to be 5.8%, and 3.1%, respectively. A wide variation has been noted in the prevalence rates of HCV infection, and the distribution of the seven genotypes (GT) of HCV among the various regions within each continent. Another epidemiological challenge is the paucity of data related to GT distribution in some extended regions in Asia, Africa, and some of the CIS regions. Several other patient-, government-, payer-, and provider level barriers have also been identified in Asia, Africa, and CIS regions, which may affect the treatment strategies and subsequent outcomes of HCV management. These barriers are further fueled by the lack of adequate documentation of the treatment practices and outcomes in these regions.

The need of the hour is the development of a data base of the disease and patient characteristics; genotype distribution; treatment patterns and compliance; and the outcomes of the treatment of HCV infection in Asia, Africa and CIS regions. An understanding of all these parameters would help in addressing the potential barriers to HCV management in these regions.