The state of hepatitis B and C in Europe: report from the hepatitis B and C summit conference*

Abstract

SUMMARY. Worldwide, the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the hepatitis C virus (HCV) cause, respectively, 600 000 and 350 000 deaths each year. Viral hepatitis is the leading cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer, which in turn ranks as the third cause of cancer death worldwide. Within the WHO European region, approximately 14 million people are chronically infected with HBV, and nine million people are chronically infected with HCV. Lack of reliable epidemiological data on HBV and HCV is one of the biggest hurdles to advancing policy. Risk groups such as migrants and injecting drug users (IDU) tend to be under-represented in existing prevalence studies; thus, targeted surveillance is urgently needed to correctly estimate the burden of HBV and HCV. The most effective means of prevention against HBV is vaccination, and most European Union (EU) countries have universal vaccination programmes. For both HBV and HCV, screening of individuals who present a high risk of contracting the virus is critical given the asymptomatic, and

Prevalence and clinical features of celiac disease in patients with hepatitis B virus infection in Southern Brazil

“…In Brazil, 16,775 cases of hepatitis B were reported in the year 2011 9 , but the actual number of cases is not completely known; there have been few studies, and Brazil has a poor notifi cation system and a large geographic area 10 . In the State of Santa Catarina, the described seroprevalence of HBsAg is 0.7% to 1.2% among blood donors in Florianopolis [11][12][13] . The prevalence of HBsAg-positive individuals in Western Santa Catarina is 1.63%, which is higher than that described in the northern and Southern regions of the state (1.12% and 0.91%, respectively) 12 .…”

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

“…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.…”

Efficacy and Safety of Danoprevir-Ritonavir plus Peginterferon Alfa-2a–Ribavirin in Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 1 Prior Null Responders

“…pproximately 150 million people are chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) worldwide, with over 350,000 deaths each year attributable to HCV infection (1,2). Among the six major HCV genotypes, genotype 1 (G1) is the most prevalent worldwide (3).…”