Is global elimination of HCV realistic?

Abstract

The elimination of hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been made possible through the availability of new antiviral drugs which may now be administered to all patients with HCV infection, even those with decompensated cirrhosis. The goal of the World Health Organization (WHO) is to reduce the incidence of chronic hepatitis infection from the current 6‐10 million to 0.9 million cases of chronic infections by 2030, and annual deaths from 1.4 million to fewer than 0.5 million. Achieving these targets will require full implementation of epidemiological knowledge of HCV infection, screening and testing practices and strategies to link HCV patients to care. This review will focus on the current state of knowledge in the epidemiology of HCV and what can be done to increase patient awareness and reduce the barriers to treatment. Furthermore, we will discuss the role of HCV clearance on the control of HCV‐related outcomes.

 

KEYWORDS
direct antiviral agents, linkage to care, screening

 

About Speaker

Antonio CRAXI

Professor of Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine

Italy

City: Palermo

Institution: University of Palermo

Contact: antonio.craxi@unipa.it


Biography of Antonio CRAXI

Antonio Craxì, MD, is Professor of Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine at the University of Palermo, Italy, where he is also Head of the Academic
Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Palermo in 1975, took his specialty training in Gastroenterology at the University of Rome in 1979, and was a research fellow at the Royal Free Hospital in London in 1980 and 1981.

Prof. Craxì is a member of several professional societies including the European, International, and American Associations for the Study of Liver Disease. He has been the President of SIGE, the Italian Society of Gastroenterology. In 2016 he was granted the EASL Career Award and in 2018 the AISF Career Award, the Sheila Sherlock Priz and the PHC award.

Prof. Craxì’s main research interests include viral hepatitis C and B, antiviral therapy, NAFLD, hepatocellular carcinoma, iron overload states,
auto-immune liver diseases and inflammatory bowel diseases. He has published almost 450 full papers in international journals (current H-index: 83) and has made many presentations at both national and international meetings. He has served on the editorial board of Hepatology, Journal of Hepatology and Gut, and has been Associate Editor of Digestive and Liver Disease.

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