Control of Hepatitis C in Iran: Vision and Missions

Chronic hepatitis C is a slowly progressivedisease of the liver caused by the hepatitis Cvirus (HCV) and after hepatitis B infection is thesecond common cause of end-stage liver disease inIran and many countries (1). However, according tothe more common routs of transmission for HCVsuch as intravenous drug abuse and needle-sharingin Iran, research on HCV is more important thanHBV (2). Also, the patients receiving maintenancetransfusion such as thalassemic patients, hemophilicpatients and patients with chronic renal failure(CRF) are at risk for HCV acquisition (1, 3, 4).