Abstract
In 2016, the WHO announced a plan to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. In this narrative review, experts from Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia assessed the feasibility of achieving the WHO 2030 target for HCV infections in Central Europe. They focused mainly on HCV micro-elimination in prisons, where the highest incidence of HCV infections is usually observed, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the detection and treatment of HCV infections. According to the presented estimates, almost 400,000 people remain infected with HCV in the analyzed countries. Interferon-free therapies are available ad libitum, but the number of patients treated annually in the last two years has halved compared to 2017–2019, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. None of the countries analyzed had implemented a national HCV screening program or a prison screening program. The main reason is a lack of will at governmental and prison levels. None of the countries analyzed see any chance of meeting the WHO targets for removing viral hepatitis from the public threat list by 2030, unless barriers such as a lack of political will and a lack of screening programs are removed quickly.
Highlights
Introduction conditions of the Creative CommonsDirect-acting antivirals (DAA) have significantly improved the effectiveness and safety of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection treatment
Experts from eight countries—Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary—have declared their readiness to participate in the development of the data
The activities of gastroenterology departments, which are the main centers for HCV infection diagnosis and DAA therapy, were limited in 2019–2020, when some of them were converted to COVID-19 treatment units
Summary
Direct-acting antivirals (DAA) have significantly improved the effectiveness and safety of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection treatment This therapeutic revolution opened up the possibility of the effective treatment of almost all HCV-infected individuals. Most of the analyzed countries belong to the group of high-income countries, according to the recent publication of the Center for Disease Analysis, none of them will achieve the goals set by the WHO [9]. In this narrative review, a team of experts from Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia assessed the current epidemiological situation in the field of HCV and the possibility of achieving the goals set by the WHO. We paid special attention to the micro-elimination of HCV infections in prisons, where the highest incidence of infections is usually observed
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