Chronic hepatitis C in children is a mild and curable liver disease

Management of chronic hepatitis C infection in children

“…It is commonly believed that children with chronic HCV have a benign course during childhood, with the majority of these children remaining asymptomatic and with minimal progression of liver disease until adulthood [13,14]. However, once these children reach adulthood, progression of fibrosis is more common and may occur in just a few years, with a small percentage demonstrating progression to severe fibrosis [15].…”

Hepatitis C virus infection in children: How do we prevent it and how do we treat it?

“…Mother-to-child transmission is the leading cause of pediatric HCV infection and data from Pakistan and Egypt estimate that 25% and up to 50% of HCV cases in children under 5 years of age, respectively, were due to perinatal transmission [56,57]. Pediatric HCV infection is typically asymptomatic and progresses slowly [58,59]. Time between HCV infection and disease development in children is highly variable and severe disease most likely occurs about 2 to 3 decades after infection [9,60].…”

“…This is particularly important for sub-Saharan African countries with higher HIV-HCV coinfection rates [62]. Although the natural history of HCV in children is generally mild, development of liver disease can occur during childhood [59,63]. Extrahepatic manifestations of chronic hepatitis C frequently occurring in adults such as rashes, cryoglobulinemia, glomerulonephritis are less common in children [9].…”