title: Consensus Statement of HCV Task Force of the Indian National Association for Study of the Liver (INASL). Part I: Status Report of HCV Infection in India.
abstract: Globally, around 150 million people are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). India contributes a large proportion of this HCV burden. The prevalence of HCV infection in India is estimated at between 0.5% and 1.5%. It is higher in the northeastern part, tribal populations and Punjab, areas which may represent HCV hotspots, and is lower in western and eastern parts of the country. The predominant modes of HCV transmission in India are blood transfusion and unsafe therapeutic injections. There is a need for large field studies to better understand HCV epidemiology and identify high-prevalence areas, and to identify and spread awareness about the modes of transmission of this infection in an attempt to prevent disease transmission.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Army Hospital (R & R), New Delhi 110010, India.
authors.forename: Pankaj
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Puri
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi 110076, India.
authors.forename: Anil C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Anand
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow 221016, India.
authors.forename: Vivek A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Saraswat
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India.
authors.forename: Subrat K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Acharya
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160012, India.
authors.forename: Radha K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Dhiman
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow 221016, India.
authors.forename: Rakesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aggarwal
authors.affiliation: Cuttack Medical College, Cuttack, Orissa 753007, India.
authors.forename: Shivram P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Bombay Hospital, Mumbai 400020, India.
authors.forename: Deepak
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Amarapurkar
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi 110060, India.
authors.forename: Anil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arora
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Fortis Hospital, Mohali, Punjab 160047, India.
authors.forename: Mohinish
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chhabra
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, International Hospital, Guwahati, Assam 781005, India.
authors.forename: Kamal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chetri
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Fortis Hospital, Gurgaon, Haryana 122002, India.
authors.forename: Gourdas
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Choudhuri
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, UP 221005, India.
authors.forename: Vinod K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Dixit
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160012, India.
authors.forename: Ajay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Duseja
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Chaithram Hospital, Indore, MP 452014, India.
authors.forename: Ajay K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Global Hospital, Hyderabad, AP 500004, India.
authors.forename: Dharmesh
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kapoorz
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, LNJP Hospital and Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi 110002, India.
authors.forename: Premashis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kar
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Lakeshore Hospital, Cochin, Kerala 682304, India.
authors.forename: Abraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koshy
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi 110060, India.
authors.forename: Ashish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Medanta Medicity, Gurgaon, Haryana 122001, India.
authors.forename: Kaushal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Madan
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, MLN Medical College, Allahabad, India.
authors.forename: Sri P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Misra
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, VGM Hospital, Coimbatore 641005, India.
authors.forename: Mohan V G
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Prasad
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai 400026, India.
authors.forename: Aabha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nagral
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, GP Pant Hospital, New Delhi 110002, India.
authors.forename: Amarendra S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Puri
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Chennai 632004, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jeyamani
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Medanta Medicity, Gurgaon, Haryana 122001, India.
authors.forename: Sanjiv
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saigal
authors.affiliation: Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 110070, India.
authors.forename: Shiv K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sarin
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Global Hospital, Mumbai 400078, India.
authors.forename: Samir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Command Hospital (SC), Pune 411040, India.
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, Punjab 141001, India.
authors.forename: Ajit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sood
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Army Hospital R&R, New Delhi 110010, India.
authors.forename: Sandeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thareja
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Indraprashtha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi 110044, India.
authors.forename: Manav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wadhawan
keywords: CH-C, chronic hepatitis C; GRADE, Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation; HCV, hepatitis C virus; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; INASL, Indian National Association for Study of the Liver; IV, intravenous; IVDU, intravenous/injecting drug user; chronic hepatitis; epidemiology; hepatitis C virus