Hepatitis C News

The pediatric population is one that relies primarily on adults for health advocacy and care, and as such, their protection and medical treatment is an ethical as well as a scientific mandate. Yet despite global improvements in research and disease control, the risk, burden and mortality associated with pediatric infectious diseases remain considerable. “Diseases of poverty,” such as tuberculosis, malaria and HIV/AIDS, continue to take a toll on children in the world’s poorest countries.

The pediatric population is one that relies primarily on adults for health advocacy and care, and as such, their protection and medical treatment is an ethical as well as a scientific mandate. Yet despite global improvements in research and disease control, the risk, burden and mortality associated with pediatric infectious diseases remain considerable. “Diseases of poverty,” such as tuberculosis, malaria and HIV/AIDS, continue to take a toll on children in the world’s poorest countries.

Interferon-experienced patients with hepatitis C who achieved sustained virologic response with direct-acting antivirals were more likely to have a higher baseline expression of interferon-stimulated genes compared with those who experienced a virologic breakthrough, according to a recently published study.

Infectious Disease News has won two awards from the American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors, which recognizes outstanding editorial and design excellence and achievements in health care publications.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have designated May as Hepatitis Awareness Month to raise public awareness of viral hepatitis including the most common strains: hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Additionally, the CDC designated May 19th as Hepatitis Testing Day.

Although sustained virologic response after antiviral therapy for hepatitis C reduces the risks for several extrahepatic manifestations, researchers found that early initiation of treatment may be required to reduce the risk for glomerulonephritis, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and stroke.

Researchers using liver stiffness measurement found significant and comparable prevalence of advanced fibrosis between patients with chronic hepatitis C recruited from primary care practices and those recruited from a hospital cohort, according to a recently published study.

Results of a recent study showed that sustained virologic response after treatment with direct-acting antivirals correlated with an increased control of vasculitic manifestations in patients with hepatitis C-associated cryoglobulinemic vasculitis, although some patients may relapse.

The prevalence of hepatitis C infection among one cohort of pregnant women increased by 60% between 2006 and 2014, with only 30% of infants born to infected mothers screened for the infection, according to a retrospective cohort study published in Pediatrics.

Although the Trump administration correctly drew national attention to the opioid crisis by naming it a public health emergency, not enough to combat opioid-related harms seen every day in the United States, according to a viewpoint published in JAMA Psychiatry.