The waters with hepatitis C!

Notimex / The Voz of Michoacán

Mexico City. Hepatitis C care is still struggling to get prompt care and diagnosis, as it is estimated that 80% of people living with the virus are unaware of their condition, the expert said. Margarita Dehesa Violante.

The Scientific Committee member of the Mexican Foundation for Liver Health (FundHepa) reminded that if it is not treated in time, hepatitis C can cause cirrhosis of the liver, kidney failure and, in some cases, liver cancer. transplant.

He also warned that many infected Mexicans had not been diagnosed yet. Despite the medical progress made, "the great challenges for care and diagnosis of this disease still prevail".

He pointed out that only 20% of people with this disease were diagnosed. He therefore emphasized the importance of the screening test and the development of a plan to eliminate the disease in which the government participates. private initiative, civil society and universities.

The specialist participated in a press conference at which AbbVie presented a new drug on the Mexican market.

Rosalva Moreno Alcántar, head of the gastroenterology department of the specialized hospital of the SXXI National Medical Center of the Mexican Institute of Social Security, stressed that it was important to put in place a prompt treatment to avoid the evolution of chronic hepatitis C in cirrhosis. compensated, since at this stage life expectancy is reduced to nine years.

He revealed that before, the initial treatment for hepatitis C consisted of an injection three times a week with interferon (IFN) and that its effects were very bothersome because they generated the fatigue and a loss of taste.

Subsequently, a drug called ribavirin was developed and was resumed. It then evolved into other more noble processes that even allowed a longer life, although the chances of eliminating the virus are only six percent and they have effects. . serious like hypothyroidism, anemia and depression.

It was only with the development of antivirals that HCV treatments could be satisfactorily treated, even if they were limited to genotype 1, since there are six types of HCV.