Hepatitis C

Only 12 high-income countries are on track to meet the World Health Organization’s goal of eliminating hepatitis C as a public health threat by 2030, and micro-elimination opportunities in high-risk populations in settings such as hospitals are often overlooked. We propose ten steps to eliminate hepatitis C in hospitals.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is common among people who are incarcerated in low- and middle-income countries. Prison policy changes towards HCV testing and treatment are pivotal for social justice and can be a crucial step for achieving HCV global elimination targets.

Vaccination is a key intervention for the elimination of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections to fulfil the WHO’s 2030 global elimination goal. Innovations in 2021 promise to curb HBV transmission by reducing mother-to-child transmission and enhancing vaccine immunogenicity in at-risk adult groups. Additionally, an HCV vaccination trial was conducted, and there were also advances in our understanding of the immunology underpinning the lack of protection against HCV reinfection.

The World Health Organization’s targets for hepatitis C elimination by 2030 are ambitious, but, in 2020, global leadership demonstrated by Egypt, innovative strategies to improve linkage to treatment for marginalized populations and the broadened capacity of direct-acting antiviral therapy have been promising for enhanced global elimination efforts.

New national hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening guidance from the United States Preventive Services Task Force includes a recommendation for one-time testing for all adults aged 18 to 79 years. Implicit in the new guidance is that all people diagnosed with chronic HCV infection should be offered HCV treatment.