Next Steps for Eradication of Hepatitis C in the Era of Direct Acting Antivirals

Conclusions: The eradication of HCV will require significant governmental financial investment for screening, prevention, and treatment of infected patients.,Evidence Acquisition: The advent of first generation direct acting antivirals (DAAs) in 2011 was followed by the introduction of a new wave of DAAs in 2013, which exhibit outstanding efficacy. It is obvious that efforts to eradicate HCV are not limited to the development of DAAs.,Results: There are major steps that should be taken to eradicate HCV, including (1) the development of screening strategies, particularly for groups such as intravenous drug users and recipients of blood or blood products before the introduction of HCV screening in donors; (2) the development of strategies to overcome issues with the high cost of recently introduced treatments; (3) special attention to special patient groups, such as HIV/HCV co-infection, hemophilia, thalassemia, hemodialysis, and liver-transplant patients; and (4) development of preventive strategies, such as the development of an efficient HCV vaccine, special attention to harm reduction in high-risk groups, and promotion of mass awareness of HCV.,Context: After the introduction of safe and highly effective hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatments, eradication of HCV in the next 20 years is the ultimate goal.
Source: Hepatitis Monthly - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research