Public health impact of antiviral therapy for hepatitis C in the United States†

Abstract

Despite dramatic improvements in antiviral therapy for hepatitis C, there is reason to believe that the uptake of antiviral therapy remains limited. The aims of this study were to determine the number of patients being treated with antiviral therapy in the U.S., to estimate the public health impact of these treatment patterns, and to identify barriers to treatment for patients

Views and experiences of hepatitis C testing and diagnosis among people who inject drugs: Systematic review of qualitative research

“…Early diagnosis of HCV provides the best opportunity for effective medical support and the prevention of further transmission (Corey, MendezNavarro, Gorospe, Zheng, & Chung, 2010). However, despite the high burden of disease associated with HCV, it is still a neglected disease in many countries and many individuals remain unaware of their HCV positive status (Volk et al, 2009;Mühlberger et al, 2009). The World Health Organization has recognised the need to integrate proven public health strategies for preventing viral hepatitis across health systems (World Health Organization, 2012b).…”

“…The World Health Organization has recognised the need to integrate proven public health strategies for preventing viral hepatitis across health systems (World Health Organization, 2012b). However, while effective government-led programmes to improve screening have been implemented in some European countries (for example France; Hatzakis et al, 2011), in others, including Australia (Hopwood & Treloar, 2004), the UK (Morris, 2011) and USA (Volk et al, 2009), evidence suggests continued variation in the availability and uptake of HCV testing, treatment, care and support services. Many high-income countries are therefore facing a major challenge to improve the identification of individuals with HCV infection.…”

Trends in hepatitis C treatment uptake in the United States

“…Using a previously developed Markov model, 1 we sought to determine the potential impacts of treatment patterns on HCVrelated morbidity and mortality. We assumed a sustained virological response (SVR) rate of 65% with BOC or TVR, accepting lower real-world SVR rates than those observed in clinical trials.…”

Extension for Community Health Outcomes-hepatitis C: Small steps carve big footprints in the allocation of scarce resources for hepatitis C virus treatment to remote developing areas

“…Oftentimes, these patients have no other option but visit nearby primary care providers (PCPs) in small clinics. However, PCPs are only equipped to address basic healthcare needs which mean HCV patients are subject to subpar treatment at best [2,3] .…”