06 Aug Hepatitis C Infection Could Be Rare in 20 Years
Medical
Research.com Interview with
Jagpreet Chhatwal, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Services Research
Houston, TX 77098
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Chhatwal: The recent updates in hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening policy and ongoing therapeutic advances can make hepatitis C a rare disease in the US by 2036. However, more aggressive screening strategies are needed to further reduce the burden of disease. For example, 1-time universal screening further identify 487,000 chronic hepatitis C virus cases in the next 10 years, and can make hepatitis C a rare disease in the next 12 years.
Medical Research Were any of the findings unexpected?
Dr. Chhatwal: We expected the burden of HCV to decrease in the US with recent advances in the field, but were pleasantly surprised to find that the HCV burden can reduce that quickly. We also found that the current hepatitis C virus screening recommendations, though impactful, will fail to identify a large pool of people who would progress to advanced disease stages without treatment and could die.
Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr. Chhatwal: This is indeed a very exciting time for patients and clinicians. Though our results indicate a favorable trend in HCV eradication, there is a need to diagnose HCV patients outside the birth-cohort of 1945-1956, and to provide timely and affordable treatment to all patients. Access to treatment should not become a barrier in reducing the burden of HCV.
Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr. Chhatwal: The cost of new direct-acting antivirals has been a subject of debate. There is a need to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of new treatments.
Second, there is a need for more aggressive screening strategies than the current recommendations.
Citation:
Last Updated on August 6, 2014 by Marie Benz MD FAAD