INTRODUCTION: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains a major public health
problem worldwide. In Burkina Faso, nearly 720,000 people are living with HCV,
and each year about 900 people die from complications of cirrhosis or
hepatocellular carcinoma. This study was planned to determine the HCV
seroprevalence, characterize circulating genotypes, and monitor HCV viral loads
in patients under treatment with antivirals.
METHODS: A total of 4,124 individuals and 167 patients in the pre-therapy
program were recruited. The "SD Bioline HCV" kit was used for rapid screening of
anti-HCV antibodies. Viral load and genotyping were performed in 167 HCV
patients on antivirals using the "Iontek HCV Quant" and "Iontek genotyping"
kits.
RESULTS: Prevalence of HCV was 1.65% (68/4,124), and the median viral load of
participants was 5.37 log10/mL (1.32-7.67 log10/mL). Genotype 2 was predominant
with a frequency of 86.23% (144/167) and appeared to be more active with higher
viral load compared to 13.77% (23/167) for genotype 1 (p

Burkina Faso; Genotype; Hepatitis C virus; Pan-genotypic drugs; Viral load.