Progress Towards the Elimination of Hepatitis C

Presentation given by Dr Stuart McPherson at the LIVErNORTH meeting on 27th March 2023.

For those of you who missed it, here are some brief notes on the fascinating presentation which provided an update on the signicant developments for treatment of Hepatitis C. Don't forget the full presentation is available on YouTube (see details at the end).

The presentation focussed on what has been achieved since 2015 in the treatment of Hepatitis C. It is truly remarkable what has been achieved in the last few years. Patients with Hepatitis C who do not have treatment have a 20 – 30% chance of developing cirrhosis. Treatment with the new drugs which are now available can cure the majority of patients' symptoms. It simply involves a 12 week course of tablets. Such is the efcacy of the new treatments that the World Health Organisation has set a target to eliminate the disease by 2030.

Across the country there are now 22 Networks which deliver treatments. Testing for the disease is easy using a blood test. The new treatments are straightforward, unlike the old system which involved interferon. As the most common cause of transmission is drug use, there are challenges in contacting people with the disease who may consider treatment is not important to them. Several innovative ideas have been been developed by the North East Network which has improved the testing and tracking of “at risk”groups.

This was a real “good news” story of how the development of a range of straightforward treatments could result in the eradication of the disease in the next eight years.

Note, the 28th July is World Hepatitis C Day, so you may hear more of Hepatitis C in the Media.

Don't forget you can access this and many of the previous presentations through LIVErNORTH on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/(type livernorth)

You can also join our future meetings with guest speakers via ZOOM. Details are always provided in our quarterly newsletter, email us for an invite: info@livernorth.org.uk