الفهرس 
Introduction & Aim of the workOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
HCV is a major health problem in the entire world due to its effect on health and economy. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was cloned in 1989. The hepatitis C virus is a small virus with lipid envelope and a single strand, positive sense RNA genome of 9500 nucleotides. Egypt represents the highest prevalence of HCV infection all over the world, where genotype 4a is the most predominant. The most important risk factors for HCV transmission are transfusion from unscreened donors, injecting drug use, and unsafe therapeutic injections. Evaluation of HCV patients include assessment of risk factors, clinical examination, laboratory diagnosis of HCV either screening or confirmatory tests then staging of liver disease. Detection of HCV antibodies by ELISA is used for initial diagnosis. Confirmatory tests should be done for positive cases. Detection of HCV RNA is important in assessing the viral load and consequently the appropriate therapy. Epidemiological studies can be done through genotyping to identify the source of infection.