Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Children

Dear Colleagues,

Hepatitis C infection is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 71 million people infected, 3.26 million of them being children. Seminal research on hepatitis C by Doctors Alter, Houghton, and Rice was recognized by the Nobel prize in Medicine in 2020. Over the past 45 years, dramatic scientific advances in hepatitis C have translated into better diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of affected patients. Recognition of hepatitis C transmission by blood transfusion in 1978 by Alter and colleagues led to the discovery of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome in 1989 by Drs. Haughton, Choo and Kuo. Subsequently, experimental inoculation of RNA transcript containing the hepatitis B genome confirmed that the RNA HCV is enough to cause hepatitis in non-human primates, as reported by Dr. Rice and collaborators in 1997. Scientific advances in diagnostic testing have prevented millions of hepatitis C infections from contaminated blood among blood transfusion recipients as screening and diagnosis has expanded worldwide. More importantly, cutting-edge research in pharmacology and chemistry resulted in the development of novel protease inhibitors and nucleoside analogues highly effective in blocking viral replication and in curing patients with hepatitis C in a short time. Despite these advances, the hepatitis C-exposed paediatric population worldwide has not significantly benefitted from novel diagnostic or therapeutic technology. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be transmitted vertically from mother to child during pregnancy or birth, and only recently, some high- and middle-income countries began programs on early screening of hepatitis C including the Center for Disease Control and prevention in the US. Despite an increased understanding of hepatitis C vertical transmission and epidemiological risk factors associated with transmission, there is limited information on the pathogenesis of HCV infection in pregnancy, the role of immune response to hepatitis C in the pregnant mother and in the infant, or the role of anti-HCV treatment during pregnancy on HCV vertical transmission.

This Special Issue aims to explore the mother–child relationships leading to HCV transmission during pregnancy and/or during the perinatal period. There have been significant advances in the pathogenesis of hepatitis C, viral cycle, and in vitro and in vivo response to highly effective direct-acting antivirals used in paediatrics. We also want to address the immune responses of children against HCV and how 25% of infants vertically infected are able to spontaneously resolve the infection. In summary, this Special Issue should be focused on cutting-edge developments in diagnosis, transmission, immune response mechanisms, therapeutics, vaccine design, and other hepatitis C paediatric-related aspects. We welcome original research articles, reviews, and insights on all aspects of hepatitis C in children.

Dr. Oscar G. Gómez-Duarte
Dr. Pearay L. Ogra
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• hepatitis C virus 
• pathogenesis
• immune response
• vertical transmission
• hepatitis C vaccines 
• screening and diagnosis
• direct-acting antivirals
• therapeutics

Dear Colleagues,

Hepatitis C infection is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 71 million people infected, 3.26 million of them being children. Seminal research by Doctors Alter, Houghton, and Rice led to a Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2020. Over 45 years, scientific advances in hepatitis C improved diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. Recognition of transmission via blood transfusion in 1978 led to discovering the HCV genome in 1989. Experimental inoculation confirmed HCV's ability to cause hepatitis. Diagnostic advances prevented infections among blood transfusion recipients. Research in pharmacology and chemistry produced effective treatments. However, pediatric populations have not benefitted significantly. HCV can transmit vertically, prompting early screening programs. Limited information exists on HCV in pregnancy and vertical transmission. This Special Issue explores mother-child relationships in HCV transmission during pregnancy and the perinatal period, focusing on pathogenesis, immune responses, and therapeutics in children. Original research, reviews, and insights on all aspects of pediatric hepatitis C are welcome.