Italian HCV eradication screening protocol and genotypes characterization (2022–2023) in Ferrara’s province: a real-world study

Italian HCV eradication screening protocol and genotypes characterization (2022–2023) in Ferrara’s province: a real-world study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Italian HCV eradication screening protocol and genotypes characterization (2022–2023) in Ferrara’s province: a real-world study Nicolò Landini, Chiara Chiericati, Michela Boni, Loredana Simone, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4649270/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a worldwide health hazard, and in chronic form (nowadays affecting 58 million people as World Health Organization estimation) can be lethal. To forestall it, preventive screening is a mandatory approach. Since 2021, Italy conducts a national-wide screening program to eradicate the virus from its population. The team perfected an innovative method throughout the period between 2022 and 2023, to answer that medical necessity and map HCV genotypes spreading. The medical protocol introduced dedicated double invitations and pre-prepared medical consumables. The population was divided in three separate groups: born between 1969 to 1989, addiction services, and prison. Two screening levels were carried out: anti-HCV antibodies (indirect chemiluminescence immunoassay) and quantitative HCV RNA reverse transcription. 51,283 adherents were registered: 447 resulted positive to the first screening round, and 88 to the second (393 and 77 patients respectively from population born between 1969–1989). The medical protocol introduced allowed to substantially increase patients and medical staff compliance to HCV screening (adherence: 51.83%, the highest in Italy). HCV genotypes’ prevalence was mapped as well, distinguishing by patients’ age, biological sex and origin the different strains distribution in the population, over five groups comprehending subtypes 1a, 1b, 2a/2c, 3a, 4a/4c/4d. Health sciences/Medical research Health sciences/Medical research/Epidemiology Health sciences/Health care/Health policy Health sciences/Diseases Health sciences/Diseases/Infectious diseases Health sciences/Diseases/Infectious diseases/Hepatitis Health sciences/Diseases/Infectious diseases/Hepatitis/Viral hepatitis Health sciences/Diseases/Infectious diseases/Hepatitis/Viral hepatitis/Hepatitis c Health sciences/Health care/Disease prevention Health sciences/Health care/Disease prevention/Preventive medicine Health sciences/Health care/Public health/Population screening Health sciences/Health care Health sciences/Health care/Public health Health sciences/Health care/Public health/Epidemiology Biological sciences/Microbiology Biological sciences/Microbiology/Virology Biological sciences/Microbiology/Virology/Hepatitis c virus Hepatitis C Population Screening Viral Genotypes Polymerase Chain Reaction Prevention Health System. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files GraphicalAbstract.pdf SupplementaryMaterial.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4649270","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":328815180,"identity":"2c0c7b72-08aa-4253-9ed7-27c3f5772258","order_by":0,"name":"Nicolò 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