Recurrence Rate of Hepatitis C Virus After Achieving a Sustained Virologic Response in Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a public health issue. Successful treatment of HCV infection results in sustained virologic response (SVR) in the majority of subjects. Subsequent recurrence of HCV, either from late relapse or reinfection, may occur. The aim of this study was to assess the recurrence rate of HCV in Iraqi patients. Methods: In this study, 113 patients who completed anti-HCV therapy successfully were recruited. While 23 patients received a classical regimen of peg-interferon plus ribavirin, 90 patients received direct-acting antiviral therapy. Those patients were followed up for three years. HCV recurrence rate was calculated using events/person years of follow-up (PYFU). Results: Among the recruited patients, HCV RT-PCR was positive in 1 (0.88%) patient giving a recurrence rate of 2.95 per 1000 PYFU. When the data were stratified according to the treatment regimen, the recurrence rate was 14.49 per 1000 PYFU in patients who received the classical regimen of interferon and ribavirin. Conclusions: The overall recurrence rate was low in Iraq. No recurrence was recorded in patients received direct-acting antiviral therapy. Further studies are needed with a larger sample size and longer follow-up to determine the relapse rate in Iraq.