{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T00:31:12Z","timestamp":1760229072561,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,30]],"date-time":"2022-05-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1653868800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"AbbVie"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In 2022, the Lithuanian health authorities decided to pay general practitioners a fee for performing serological tests for hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies in the population born from 1945 to 1994 once per life and annual HCV testing for PWID and HIV infected patients. This study aimed to assess trends in HCV-related mortality in the country and the prevalence of HCV infection among patients with liver diseases and evaluate possibilities of screening for HCV infection at a primary health care center. Age-standardized mortality rates in 2010\u20132020 were calculated for deaths caused by chronic hepatitis C and some liver diseases. Data on HCV infection among patients with liver cirrhosis, cancer and transplant patients were collected from the tertiary care hospital Kauno Klinikos. The prevalence of anti-HCV and risk factors of HCV infection was assessed among patients registered with the health care center in Klaipeda, where a pilot study of screening was performed. No steady trend in mortality was observed. Analysis of medical documentation showed that 40.5% of patients with liver cirrhosis, 49.7% with cancers and 36.9% of transplant patients were HCV infected. Over the year, 4867 patients were screened in the primary health care center. Positive anti-HCV prevalence was 1.7% (2.1% in men and 1.3% in women). Blood transfusion and being a blood donor before 1993 also having tattoos were associated with higher odds of HCV infection. The study revealed the active participation of individuals in HCV screening.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v14061192","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,31]],"date-time":"2022-05-31T05:25:42Z","timestamp":1653974742000},"page":"1192","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Hepatitis C Virus Epidemiology in Lithuania: Situation before Introduction of the National Screening Programme"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Egle","family":"Ciupkeviciene","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Research Institute, Faculty of Public Health, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT47181 Kaunas, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3953-8655","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Janina","family":"Petkeviciene","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Research Institute, Faculty of Public Health, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT47181 Kaunas, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jolanta","family":"Sumskiene","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT50161 Kaunas, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gediminas","family":"Dragunas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jurininku Health Care Centre, LT91213 Klaipeda, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Saulius","family":"Dabravalskis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jurininku Health Care Centre, LT91213 Klaipeda, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Edita","family":"Kreivenaite","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT50161 Kaunas, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tadas","family":"Telksnys","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Research Institute, Faculty of Public Health, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT47181 Kaunas, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gediminas","family":"Urbonas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT50161 Kaunas, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Limas","family":"Kupcinskas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT50161 Kaunas, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1055\/s-2000-9505","article-title":"Recovery, Persistence, and Sequelae in Hepatitis C Virus infection: A perspective on Long-Term Outcome","volume":"20","author":"Alter","year":"2000","journal-title":"Semin. 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