Scientists in the U.K. have discovered that genotype 1 infections are the most prevalent among all global hepatitis C cases.

In the study, published in Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, researchers discovered that more than 83 million patients suffering from hepatitis C are infected with genotype 1. Approximately one-third of these cases are found in East Asia. Genotype 3 is the second most prevalent, making up just over 54 million cases worldwide.

Both genotypes 1 and 3 are prevalent regardless of social and economic status.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 130–150 million people live with chronic hepatitis C infection across the globe. Between 350,000 to 500,000 people die every year from hepatitis C-related liver illnesses.

The researchers looked at 1,217 medical studies from 1989 and 2013 that reported hepatitis C virus genotypes. They then combined the data with estimates of HCV prevalence according to the WHO Global Burden of Disease project. The study included approximately 90 percent of the world’s population.

Lead study co-author Dr. Jane Messina with the University of Oxford in the U.K. stresses the importance of understanding and testing viral genotypes in order to develop effective therapies to counter the disease.

“While the HCV infection rate is decreasing in developed countries, deaths from liver disease secondary to HCV will continue increasing over the next 20 years. Understanding the global trends in the genetic makeup of HCV is the focus of our study and imperative in developing new treatment strategies that may save millions of lives around the world,” said Dr. Messina in a statement.