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TUESDAY, Jan. 29, 2019 (HealthDay News) – Millions of cases of hepatitis C and related deaths could be avoided, but major investments will be needed, according to researchers.
In the first study modeling these measures around the world, the authors concluded that considerable efforts in prevention, screening and treatment could prevent 15.1 million new hepatitis C infections and 1.5 million new infections. deaths from cirrhosis and liver cancer by 2030.
Compared to 2015, this would represent an 80% decrease in hepatitis C and 60% of deaths, according to the study published on January 28, 2006. The lancet newspaper.
Reducing the number of new cases would achieve the goal set by the World Health Organization (WHO) by 2030, but would be just below the goal of reducing the number of new cases. 65% the number of deaths due to hepatitis C. The new study indicates that this goal could be achieved by 2032.
"Even though the WHO's goals for 2030 are far from being achieved, the impact, according to our estimates, would be a tremendous step forward," said research director Alastair Heffernan in A press release. Heffernan is a professor at Imperial College London.
The elimination of the hepatitis C virus will require enhanced prevention and screening, especially in countries such as China, India, and Pakistan, he said.
"Around the world, these options are currently well below estimated levels needed to have a major impact on the epidemic," Heffernan said. "Research on how to improve this in all contexts, as well as the increase in funding, will be necessary if we are to achieve these goals."
Around the world, about 71 million people have chronic hepatitis C. Between 10% and 20% should develop liver complications such as cirrhosis and cancer, which caused more than 475,000 deaths in 2015.
The most common causes of hepatitis C infection are blood transfusions, injections at risk in health care and injection drug use.
The direct acting antivirals that became available a few years ago offer much better cure rates, as well as fewer side effects and shorter treatment. The authors stated that this means that more patients can complete the treatment successfully.
Dr. Stefan Wiktor, professor of global health at the University of Washington in Seattle, wrote an accompanying editorial. He added that the necessary expansion of hepatitis treatment services would require political will and substantial investment.
"The WHO has estimated that the implementation of its strategy would cost US $ 11.9 billion for the period 2016-2021," he said. "The identification of these resources will be particularly difficult at this time of reducing investments in global health and refocusing on universal health coverage rather than disease-specific programs."
More information
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have more information on hepatitis C.
SOURCE: The lancet, press release, January 28, 2019
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