Hepatitis C News

Since its launch in 2016, a hepatitis C elimination program in Iceland has treated approximately 56% to 70% of the estimated viremic population with direct-acting antivirals, according to a recently published update.

Hepatitis C eradication by direct-acting antivirals improved carotid atherosclerosis in patients with severe fibrosis regardless of the presence of additional metabolic risk factors, according to recently published data.

Treating recipients of a kidney from a donor with HCV with direct-acting antiviral medications before and after transplantation is safe and prevents chronic HCV infection, according to findings published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

The addition of ribavirin to 12 weeks of Harvoni showed little therapeutic benefit in patients undergoing retreatment for hepatitis C after failing to achieve sustained virologic response with a prior NS5A inhibitor-containing regimen, according to recently published data.

Newly published research suggests that expanding hepatitis C virus testing to everyone aged 18 years and older in the United States would likely be a cost-effective way to improve HCV outcomes.

Zepatier demonstrated high efficacy among patients with hepatitis C genotype 3, regardless of treatment experience or baseline resistance-associated substitutions, according to recently published data.

The high efficacy of direct-acting antivirals correlated with significant improvement in survival of patients who underwent liver transplantation for hepatitis C-related liver disease, according to a recently published study.

Model projections of scaled-up opioid substitution therapy and needle and syringe programs in Europe demonstrated a potential reduction in hepatitis C prevalence of 18% to 79% and could reduce treatment scale-up need by 20% to 80%.

Although hepatitis C cure rates continue to increase in the direct-acting antiviral era, especially in developed nations, some individuals still fail to achieve sustained virologic responses and others may have more risk factors for infection or transmission.

As direct-acting antiviral agents for hepatitis C virus become more accessible and affordable, there will be a greater need for primary care physicians to care for patients with HCV.