Early empirical evidence provides grounds for optimism about eliminating HCV by 2030
Curative direct‐acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for people with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections1 has transformed clinical management and spurred ambitious World Health Organization elimination targets for 2030.2 WHO service targets encompass marked improvements in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment; impact targets include a 65% reduction in HCV‐related deaths and an 80% reduction in new HCV infections compared with 2015.2
The full article is accessible to AMA
members and paid subscribers.
Login to MJA or subscribe now.
- 1. Spearman CW, Dusheiko GM, Hellard M, Sonderup M. Hepatitis C. Lancet 2019; 394: 1451–1466.
- 2. Word Health Organization. Global health sector strategy on viral hepatitis, 2016–2021 (WHO/HIV/2016.06). Geneva: WHO, 2016. https://www.who.int/hepatitis/strategy2016-2021/ghss-hep/en/ (viewed Mar 2020).
- 3. Hajarizadeh B, Grebely J, Matthews GV, et al. Uptake of direct‐acting antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis C in Australia. J Viral Hepat 2018; 25: 640–648.
- 4. Iversen J, Dore GJ, Catlett B, et al. Association between rapid utilisation of direct hepatitis C antivirals and decline in the prevalence of viremia among people who inject drugs in Australia. J Hepatol 2019; 70: 33–39.
- 5. Iranpour N DG, Martinello M, Matthews G, et al. Estimated uptake of hepatitis C direct‐acting antiviral treatment among individuals with HIV co‐infection in Australia: a retrospective cohort study. Sexual Health 2020; https://doi.org/10.1071/sh19101 [Epub ahead of print].
- 6. Moon S, Erickson E. Universal medicine access through lump‐sum remuneration: Australia's approach to hepatitis C. N Engl J Med 2019; 380: 607–610.
- 7. Alavi M, Law MG, Valerio H, et al. Declining hepatitis C virus‐related liver disease burden in the direct‐acting antiviral therapy era in New South Wales, Australia. J Hepatol 2019; 71: 281–288.
- 8. Scott N, Sacks‐Davis R, Wade AJ, et al. Australia needs to increase testing to achieve hepatitis C elimination. Med J Aust 2020; 212: 365–370.
- 9. NSW Government. NSW hepatitis B and hepatitis C strategies 2014–2020 data report: 2018 annual data report. 2018. https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/hepatitis/Publications/2018-annual-data-report.pdf (viewed Mar 2020).
- 10. Larney S, Peacock A, Leung J, et al. Global, regional, and country‐level coverage of interventions to prevent and manage HIV and hepatitis C among people who inject drugs: a systematic review. Lancet Glob Health 2017; 5: e1208–e1220.
- 11. Fraser H, Zibbell J, Hoerger T, et al. Scaling‐up HCV prevention and treatment interventions in rural United States‐ model projections for tackling an increasing epidemic. Addiction 2017; 113: 173–182.
- 12. The Kirby Institute. Monitoring hepatitis C treatment uptake in Australia (issue 10). June 2019. https://kirby.unsw.edu.au/report/monitoring-hepatitis-c-treatment-uptake-australia-issue-10-june-2019 (viewed Mar 2020).
Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.
Gregory Dore is an advisory board member and has received honoraria, research grant funding, and travel sponsorship from Merck, Gilead, and Abbvie.