Strategies to manage hepatitis C virus infection disease burden – volume 3

Alfaleh FZ, Nugrahini N, Matičič M, Tolmane I, Alzaabi M, Hajarizadeh B, Valantinas J, Kim DY, Hunyady B, Abaalkhail F, Abbas Z, Abdou A, Abourached A, Al Braiki F, Al Hosani F, Al Jaberi K, Al Khatry M, Al Mulla MA, Al Quraishi H, Al Rifai A, Al Serkal Y, Alam A, Alashgar HI, Alavian SM, Alawadhi S, Al-Dabal L, Aldins P, Alghamdi AS, Al-Hakeem R, Aljumah AA, Almessabi A, Alqutub AN, Alswat KA, Altraif I, Andrea N, Assiri AM, Babatin MA, Baqir A, Barakat MT, Bergmann OM, Bizri AR, Chaudhry A, Choi MS, Diab T, Djauzi S, El Hassan ES, El Khoury S, Estes C, Fakhry S, Farooqi JI, Fridjonsdottir H, Gani RA, Ghafoor Khan A, Gheorghe L, Goldis A, Gottfredsson M, Gregorcic S, Gunter J, Hamid S, Han KH, Hasan I, Hashim A, Horvath G, Husni R, Jafri W, Jeruma A, Jonasson JG, Karlsdottir B, Kim YS, Koutoubi Z, Lesmana LA, Liakina V, Lim YS, Löve A, Maimets M, Makara M, Malekzadeh R, Memon MS, Merat S, Mokhbat JE, Mourad FH, Muljono DH, Nawaz A, Olafsson S, Priohutomo S, Qureshi H, Rassam P, Razavi H, Razavi-Shearer D, Razavi-Shearer K, Rozentale B, Sadik M, Saeed K, Salamat A, Salupere R, Sanai FM, Sanityoso Sulaiman A, Sayegh RA, Schmelzer JD, Sharara AI, Sibley A, Siddiq M, Siddiqui AM, Sigmundsdottir G, Sigurdardottir B, Speiciene D, Sulaiman A, Sultan MA, Taha M, Tanaka J, Tarifi H, Tayyab G, Ud Din M, Umar M, Videčnik-Zorman J, Yaghi C, Yunihastuti E, Yusuf MA, Zuberi BF, Blach S. Strategies to manage hepatitis C virus infection disease burden – volume 3. J Viral Hepat. 2015 Dec;22 Suppl 4:42-65. doi: 10.1111/jvh.12474. PMID: 26513447.

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Summary

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemic was forecasted through 2030 for 15 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and the relative impact of two scenarios was considered: [1] increased treatment efficacy while holding the annual number of treated patients constant and [2] increased treatment efficacy and an increased annual number of treated patients. Increasing levels of diagnosis and treatment, in combination with improved treatment efficacy, were critical for achieving substantial reductions in disease burden. A 90% reduction in total HCV infections within 15 years is feasible in most countries studied, but it required a coordinated effort to introduce harm reduction programmes to reduce new infections, screening to identify those already infected and treatment with high cure rate therapies. This suggests that increased capacity for screening and treatment will be critical in many countries. Birth cohort screening is a helpful tool for maximizing resources. Among European countries, the majority of patients were born between 1940 and 1985. A wider range of birth cohorts was seen in the Middle East and Asia (between 1925 and 1995).

Countries: Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Pakistan, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, South Korea, United Arab Emirates