Frequency of Children Diagnosed with Perinatal Hepatitis C, United States, 2018–2020
“We describe hepatitis C testing of 47 (2%) of 2,266 children diagnosed with perinatal hepatitis C who were exposed during 2018–2020 in 7 jurisdictions in the United States. Expected frequency of perinatal transmission is 5.8%, indicating only one third of the cases in this cohort were reported to public health authorities.”
Advancing Hepatitis C Elimination: Implementation Strategy for the Proposed National Program
“Millions of Americans suffer from chronic hepatitis C, which remains the leading cause of liver cancer and liver transplantation, despite the availability of diagnostic tests and curative therapies. The Biden Administration has proposed a national program for hepatitis C elimination that prioritizes the development of point of care diagnostics, broad access to curative DAA therapy , and comprehensive and coordinated efforts across public health and health care programs to engage, inform, identify, and treat individuals with hepatitis C. Consequently, there is unprecedented interest in developing a feasible implementation pathway to ensure maximum impact of new federal investments needed to implement such a program. This policy brief outlines recommendations for an implementation strategy for this national program.”
Improving Hepatitis C Care Through Point-of-Diagnostic Treatment
“High cure rates underscore the effectiveness of the No One Waits (NOW) model in ensuring not only treatment initiation but also successful completion, ultimately reducing the burden of HCV in the studied population and possibly beyond.”
Ministers lose infected blood vote after Tory MPs revolt
“MPs have backed a move to speed up compensation for victims of the NHS infected blood scandal, delivering the prime minister his first Commons defeat. Ministers will now have to set up a body to run the scheme within three months of a new bill becoming law.”
Irregular Eating Can Raise Risk of Fatty Liver Disease
“Irregular meal times and skipping meals can increase the risk of developing metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), according to study findings published in Gut. In contrast, intermittent fasting and time-restricted eating may improve liver health.”
Australia making progress but more needs to be done to eliminate hepatitis C: Report
“A new report, “Key findings of Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination: Annual report 2023,” by Burnet Institute and Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney released today, shows: Between March 2016 and December 2022, an estimated 100,684 people living with hepatitis C initiated treatment. Treatment rates are declining, in 2016, 33,202 people were treated compared to just 5,205 people in 2022. An estimated 74,400 Australians remained living with hepatitis C at the end of 2022.”
Exposure to Agent Orange and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Among US Military Personnel
“Findings This cohort study of 296 505 eligible veterans, no association between AO and incident HCC was observed. However, among veterans, viral hepatitis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and alcohol and tobacco use were the most important clinical risk factors for HCC, which were further modified by cirrhosis status.”
Hep B Vaccine May Improve Survival Rates in People With Chronic Liver Diseases
“Hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination not only prevents HBV infection but also may improve survival rates in people with liver diseases, according to a recent study presented at The Liver Meeting. The HBV vaccine is among the safest and most effective vaccines available, according to the Hepatitis B Foundation. Up to 2.4 million people in the United States are chronically infected with HBV, and thousands of people die of the infection each year. Only 30% of U.S. adults have been vaccinated against HBV.”
Machine learning for predicting hepatitis B or C virus infection in diabetic patients
“Our study demonstrated that a machine-learning-based model performed optimally in the detection of hepatitis among diabetes patients, achieving high performance. Furthermore, models and predictors evaluated from the current study, we expect, could be supportive information for developing screening or treatment methods for hepatitis care in diabetes patients.”
Dr. Michael Fine: What’s Crazy About Hepatitis C, HIV, and Colon Cancer
“It’s crazy we haven’t provided primary care to all Americans.”
A decade of HCV drugs
“The FDA’s approval of Gilead’s hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug sofosbuvir (Sovaldi) in December 2013 made big healthcare waves. Drug developers heralded the long-awaited arrival of a wonder drug that promised to wipe out a previously hard-to-treat virus. Patients looked forward to relief from a chronic infection, if they could get the drug. And Medicare and insurance companies worried that the pricey new antiviral would break the bank.”
Study Finds High Hepatitis C Infection Seroprevalence in Pregnant Women
“Results from a systematic review and meta-analysis estimating the global and regional seroprevalence of HCV antibody and determinants in pregnant women are calling attention to the high burden of exposure to HCV infection in this patient population. The seroprevalence of HCV antibody among pregnant women was significantly greater among those with opioid use disorder (51.94%) and HIV infection (4.34%) compared to the general population of pregnant women (1.08%), further identifying age, education, sexual activity, history of blood transfusion, hospitalization, surgery, and testing hepatitis B positive as additional risk factors.”
Quest Diagnostics Wins Contract From CDC to Assess US Hepatitis C Burden
“NEW YORK — Quest Diagnostics said Thursday that it has been awarded a contract from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assess the burden of hepatitis C virus in the US. Under the agreement, Quest will perform HCV antibody testing and molecular RNA testing on de-identified remnant specimens randomly selected from clinical test specimens.”
Biden’s hepatitis C initiative needs help from the private market
“The case for the Biden administration’s initiative to eradicate deadly hepatitis C is simple. It aims to rescue millions of lives, in line with the World Health Organization’s target of eliminating the disease by 2030.”
New Report: Unlocking HCV Care In Key Settings Convening Summary
“In September of this year, NASTAD and NVHR convened a two-day virtual summit entitled Unlocking HCV Care in Key Settings with an estimated 600 participants in attendance. The four key settings discussed—programs that provide medications for opioid use disorder, state correctional facilities, federally qualified health centers, and syringe services programs—have particular value and significance for their potential in engaging people with high burdens of HCV and high barriers to health care access.”
Videos:
National commitment critical to HCV elimination efforts
“BOSTON — In this video, John W. Ward, MD, discusses strategies to drive the elimination of hepatitis C virus, including commitment on a national scale.”
Monitoring Treatment and Confirming the Cure of HCV
“Experts in HCV care discuss monitoring HCV treatment.”
Adherence and HCV Treatment
“The panelists discuss adherence in HCV treatment.”
