Hepatitis C News

In conducting our national review of Medicaid restrictions for hepatitis C virus treatments, it became obvious that people living with HCV and the broader HCV advocacy community need help from you — the physicians who treat HCV.

CHICAGO — In this exclusive video from Digestive Disease Week, Norah Terrault, MD, MPH, discusses the topics reviewed during a press conference involving several experts attending the meeting. Some of the key features of the meeting included new developments for treating hepatitis C, new data emerging on difficult to treat groups such as persons who inject drugs, and the industry’s focus on fatty liver disease.

The number of hepatitis C virus infections reported yearly in the United States has tripled since 2010, reaching a 15-year high, according to the CDC.

A hepatitis C treatment program at an urban safety-net hospital that utilized a public health social worker, general internists trained in hepatitis C treatment, pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians led to nearly one out of every four referrals receiving treatment, according to research recently published in Annals of Family Medicine.

A recent substantial increase in hepatitis C virus infection among reproduction-aged women in the United States highlights a need for routine HCV screening during pregnancy, according to recent data published in Annals Internal Medicine.

CHICAGO — A research team identified genetic markers that predict which patients with hepatitis C and cirrhosis will most likely improve with direct-acting antiviral agent and those who will fail to improve or possibly worsen, according to a presentation at Digestive Disease Week.

AMSTERDAM — All 111 of a cohort of patients in Taiwan coinfected with both hepatitis B and hepatitis C who were treated with Harvoni reached sustained virologic response at 12 weeks, according to data presented at the International Liver Congress.

A state-level evaluation of the burden of hepatitis C virus infection revealed that states in the Western and Southern United States are most impacted by the disease.

In a recent pilot trial, patients who were previously hepatitis C-negative had detectable HCV RNA after transplantation with HCV-infected kidneys. All patients in the trial achieved sustained virologic response with Zepatier.

In a recent editorial, experts discussed the necessity to optimize control and treatment of hepatitis C among patients with substance abuse disorders, to further the goal of HCV elimination.