Hepatitis C News

African-American patients were significantly less likely to achieve sustained virologic response after hepatitis C treatment with direct-acting antivirals compared with white patients, according to recently published data.

The introduction of direct-acting antivirals and their significantly high cure rates are just one element in the formula for global elimination of hepatitis C. As important as successful treatment is, HCV cannot be eliminated without increased screening and diagnosis, especially considering the peaks of transmission related to the current opioid epidemic in the United States and limited resources in developing countries.

Historically, guidelines for most clinical diseases have been published in print journals. This meant that a significant delay, often up to 3 or more years, between the decision to publish a new set of Guidelines to their publication owing to an onerous process. This included the time it took to gather the experts together, convene a series of meetings of the panel, have deliberations, reach consensus, write up and publish their recommendations. Sometimes delays were such that by the time that the Guidelines got into print, they were at risk of being outdated.

An international study showed that alcohol use disorder contributed significantly to liver disease burden in patients with hepatitis C. Researchers suggest that, where appropriate, countries develop strategies that combine direct-acting antiviral therapy with management of alcohol use disorders.

People who are homeless are more vulnerable to many infectious diseases than the general population and harder to reach for treatment.

Most patients with hepatitis C who were recent injection drug users achieved sustained virologic response after treatment with direct-acting antiviral Epclusa, according to recently published study results.

Hospitalization for hepatitis C increased significantly between 2005 and 2014, especially among baby boomers, men, African-American and Hispanic patients, and patients with mental health and substance abuse disorders, according to data from a Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project statistical brief.

The Canadian Treatment Action Council launched a call-to-action campaign to end hepatitis C in Canada, according to a white paper published by the organization. The authors focused on treatment access policy issues in Canada that must be addressed to achieve the WHO elimination targets by 2030.

On Jan. 23, 2017, Philadelphia city officials announced their support for supervised drug injection sites to combat the ongoing opioid epidemic, which has led to increased rates of infectious disease transmissions such as hepatitis C and HIV.

Results of a recent study showed a significant correlation between the increase of acute hepatitis C cases in the U.S. and the country’s current opioid epidemic. Acute HCV and admissions for opioid injection drug use increased significantly among individuals aged 18 years to 39 years, both men and women, and specific ethnicities.