Viral Hepatitis
Viral hepatitis elimination requires equitable public health approach
Viral hepatitis is a major danger to public health. According to WHO’s 2024 Global Hepatitis Report, viral hepatitis deaths increased from 1.1 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2022, rates now similar to tuberculosis.
Top in women’s health: OB/GYN enrollment after Dobbs; complications among Black infants
OB/GYN enrollments in states with abortion bans did not change in the 2 years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, according to an analysis of Medicare data from July 2017 to June 2024..
CDC: Heplisav-B joins recommended HBV vaccine options for pregnant patients
Data from a postlicensure study support the CDC’s recommendation that Heplisav-B can now be administered to pregnant persons needing hepatitis B vaccination, as its use did not appear to increase risk for major birth defects or miscarriage.
HBeAg-seroconversion in childhood among predictors of functional cure of chronic HBV
Hepatitis B e-antigen seroconversion in childhood and low hepatitis B surface antigen titers after seroconversion independently predicted functional cure in chronic HBV-infected patients followed from childhood through adulthood.
VIDEO: Without universal screening, ‘tiny’ hepatitis D could ‘wreak havoc’ globally
In a Healio video exclusive, Edward V. Loftus Jr., MD, warned that, despite being the smallest virus capable of causing human disease, hepatitis delta virus holds an outsized global impact as the most severe form of viral hepatitis.
To identify, manage HDV, ‘the simple approach is to just screen’ all patients with HBV
Over recent years, there has been increased interest and attention to hepatitis delta virus, as we are beginning to understand that this is a real problem that at the moment is under-addressed and under-identified.
‘Uncommon’ but not ‘unimportant’: Screen all patients with hepatitis B for HDV
Despite being the smallest virus capable of causing human disease, it is estimated that up to 80% of patients with hepatitis delta virus will progress to liver cirrhosis and more than 50% will die of liver disease within 10 years of diagnosis.
HCV elimination efforts in Georgia lower infections by 61%, may advance reaching 2030 goal
A hepatitis C elimination program in Georgia reduced the estimated annual incidence of new infections by 61% since its launch in April 2015, which may accelerate efforts to reach the global 2030 elimination goal.
Up to 13% with dementia may instead have ‘treatable’ HE due to undiagnosed cirrhosis
Up to 13% of patients with dementia have lab values that suggest undiagnosed cirrhosis and possible hepatic encephalopathy, an “easily treatable” cause of cognitive impairment, according to a study in The American Journal of Medicine.
‘It’s time for action’: World Hepatitis Day calls to end an ‘entirely preventable disease’
Every year on July 28th, clinicians and researchers recognize World Hepatitis Day to bring awareness to one of the world’s deadliest but preventable viruses and continue efforts to meet the global goal of eliminating viral hepatitis by 2030