ABSTRACT
Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common cancer in Mongolia. The relative importance of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in HCC etiology is known to vary greatly from one part of the world to another. Principally, 95% of HCC patients have chronic viral hepatitis, including 53% hepatitis B virus, 38.9% HCV, and 5.6% have HBV/HCV coinfection. Hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection is widely spread in our country, anti-HDV has been found in more than 25% of carriers who have HBsAg. Materials and methods: We analyzed data of patients who had been diagnosed with acute viral hepatitis in the Department of adult hepatitis, National Center for Communicable Diseases in Mongolia from 1952 to 2018. Results: A total of 318,831 cases of acute viral hepatitis were registered in Mongolia between 1981 and 2019, which is 34.9 cases per 10,000 population. Of these, 265,931 cases of acute viral hepatitis A, or 28.6 per 10,000 populations, 48,855 cases of acute viral hepatitis B, or 5.5 cases per 10,000 populations, and 2,607 cases of acute viral hepatitis C, or 0.4 cases per 10,000 populations were recorded. Conclusion: The prevalence of viral hepatitis in our country was the highest in 1981-1991, but since 2012, the prevalence of infection has steadily decreased. In Mongolia, since 1960, multifaceted programs and activities to combat viral hepatitis have been successfully implemented at the national level. How to cite this article: Badamnachin B, Badamjav T, Dondov G, et al. The Dynamics of the Prevalence of Acute Viral Hepatitis and the Strategies against Viral Hepatitis in Mongolia. Euroasian J Hepato-Gastroenterol 2024;14(1):65-69.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Persistent cryoglobulinemia after the completion of antiviral treatment is an important consideration of clinical management in chronic hepatitis C patients. We aimed to investigate the occurrence of serum cryoglobulinemia in chronic hepatitis C patients without cryoglobulinemia at the initiation of antiviral treatment. METHODS: In total, 776 patients without cryoglobulinemia were assessed for serum cryoglobulinemia after the completion of anti-HCV treatment. Serum cryoglobulinemia precipitation was assessed upon both the initiation and the completion of the treatment and analyzed for the clinical laboratory factors associated with chronic hepatitis C. RESULTS: One hundred eighteen (118) patients were checked for serum cryo-precipitation after the completion of the treatment, and eight patients (4.6%) were positive for serum cryoglobulinemia. The patients who tested positive for cryoglobulinemia included a higher proportion of liver cirrhosis patients (4/50%, p = 0.033) and other organ cancer patients (5/62.5%, p = 0.006) than patients who showed no signs of cryoglobulinemia after treatment. In a multivariate analysis, liver cirrhosis (odds ratio [OR]-17.86, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]-1.79-177.35, p = 0.014) and other organ cancer (OR-25.17 95% CI-2.59-244.23, p = 0.005) were independently and significantly associated with positive cryoglobulinemia 3 months after antiviral treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Three months after the antiviral DAA therapy had concluded, eight patients tested positive for cryoglobulinemia, representing a 6.7% prevalence. Liver cirrhosis and other organ cancer were independently and significantly associated with positive cryoglobulinemia after antiviral treatment. Further investigation into the causes of positive cryoglobulinemia after DAA antiviral therapy is warranted.