0000000000867344
AUTHOR
Kosh Agarwal
The road map toward an hepatitis C virus-free transplant population
Antiviral therapy to eradicate hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection improves outcomes in patients undergoing liver transplantation (LT) for advanced chronic HCV with or without hepatocellular carcinoma. Traditionally, antiviral therapy focused on the use of interferon (IFN)-based regimens, with antiviral treatment initiated in the posttransplant period once recurrent HCV disease with fibrosis in the allograft was identified. The use of IFN-based therapy was limited in pretransplant patients with advanced liver disease. Earlier intervention, either before transplantation or early after LT, is now feasible with the advent of second-generation direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) with superior t…
The case for simplifying and using absolute targets for viral hepatitis elimination goals
The 69th World Health Assembly endorsed the Global Health Sector Strategy for Viral Hepatitis, embracing a goal to eliminate hepatitis infection as a public health threat by 2030. This was followed by the World Health Organization's (WHO) global targets for the care and management of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. These announcements and targets were important in raising awareness and calling for action; however, tracking countries’ progress towards these elimination goals has provided insights to the limitations of these targets. The existing targets compare a country's progress relative to its 2015 values, penalizing countries who started their programmes …