{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T11:18:38Z","timestamp":1788175118842,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"23","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,1]],"date-time":"2025-12-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764547200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan","award":["MOST108-2314-B182A-101-MY3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MOST108-2314-B182A-101-MY3"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100011892","name":"Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100011892","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains a major public health concern in Taiwan, particularly in southern regions with high endemicity. While HCV elimination is a national priority, resources are often limited. Relying solely on broad, township-level prevalence rates is inefficient, as the true disease burden can vary dramatically at the village level. Therefore, identifying local hotspots through fine-scale mapping is critical for efficient resource allocation and targeted intervention. This study aimed to validate village-level prevalence estimates and evaluate the efficiency of a community-based, targeted screening approach utilizing this detailed prevalence data in Chiayi County. Methods: We integrated data from the Chiayi Health Bureau and Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (2000\u20132015) to generate village-level risk maps for five townships: Lioujiao (LJ), Yijhu (YH), Dongshih (DS), Taibao (TB), and Lucao (LC). Between 2018 and 2021, we conducted door-to-door community screening using anti-HCV testing with reflex HCV antigen (Ag) testing. Anti-HCV\/HCV Ag prevalence, number needed to test (NNT), and linkage-to-care rates were calculated to validate prevalence estimates and assess screening efficiency. Results: Among 3910 participants, anti-HCV prevalence ranged from 5.4% (TB) to 8.7% (DS). Estimated and observed village-level prevalence showed moderate-to-strong correlation (r = 0.696\u20130.830, p &lt; 0.001). Screening efficiency was highest in DS (NNT = 21) and lowest in TB (NNT = 42). Of 132 antigen-positive individuals, 131 (99.2%) initiated direct-acting antiviral therapy. Conclusions: The village-level risk maps accurately predicted local HCV burden, enabling targeted screening with high diagnostic yield and near-complete treatment uptake. This approach maximizes resource efficiency and may serve as a scalable model for advancing Taiwan and the WHO\u2019s 2030 HCV elimination goals.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics15233064","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,2]],"date-time":"2025-12-02T15:31:46Z","timestamp":1764689506000},"page":"3064","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Prevalence-Guided Anti-HCV and Reflex HCV Ag Testing in the Detection of Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C in Hepatitis C Endemic Areas"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-1272-7526","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sheng-Hsueh","family":"Chen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Education Committee, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan"},{"name":"School of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuan-Jie","family":"Ding","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 613, Taiwan"},{"name":"Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Jen-Ai Hospital\u2014Dali Branch, Taichung 41265, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8636-9404","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nien-Tzu","family":"Hsu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Center, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1581-6948","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Te-Sheng","family":"Chang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 613, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yu-Chen","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Public Health Bureau, Chiayi 61249, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wen-Hua","family":"Chao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Public Health Bureau, Chiayi 61249, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5493-4752","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sheng-Nan","family":"Lu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Hepato-Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"717","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gtc.2015.07.003","article-title":"Natural History of Hepatitis C","volume":"44","author":"Lingala","year":"2015","journal-title":"Gastroenterol. 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