Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jun;17(2):111-120.
doi: 10.1007/s11901-018-0394-x. Epub 2018 Mar 24.

Strategies for the elimination of hepatitis C virus infection as a public health threat in the United States

Charitha Gowda  1   2 , Vincent Lo Re 3rd  2   3   4
Affiliations

Strategies for the elimination of hepatitis C virus infection as a public health threat in the United States

Charitha Gowda et al. Curr Hepatol Rep. 2018 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose of review: Direct-acting antiviral regimens for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) became available in 2014, and these highly curative therapies have the potential to reduce HCV-associated morbidity and mortality, decrease transmission, and eliminate HCV infection as a public health problem. This review summarizes the recommendations by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for a US strategy for HCV elimination.

Recent findings: To achieve proposed targets of reducing HCV incidence by 90% and decreasing HCV-related mortality by 60% by 2030, there is a critical need to improve HCV diagnosis and linkage to care; reduce HCV-related disease by antiviral treatment scale-up; reduce HCV incidence; and strengthen HCV surveillance to determine achievement of HCV elimination targets over time.

Summary: While HCV elimination is feasible, success of this national effort will require ongoing collaboration and critical resource investment by key stakeholders, including medical and public health communities, legislators, community organizers, and patient advocates.

Keywords: US public health threats; elimination; hepatitis C.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Charitha Gowda declares no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Four main categories of national hepatitis C virus elimination goals recommended by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and strategies to achieve these goals. Abbreviation: HCV, hepatitis C virus
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Denniston MM, Jiles RB, Drobeniuc J, Klevens RM, Ward JW, McQuillan GM, et al. Chronic hepatitis C virus infection in the United States, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003 to 2010. Ann Intern Med. 2014;160(5):293–300. doi: 10.7326/M13-1133. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Westbrook RH, Dusheiko G. Natural history of hepatitis C. J Hepatol. 2014;61(1 Suppl):S58–68. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2014.07.012. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ly KN, Hughes EM, Jiles RB, Holmberg SD. Rising Mortality Associated With Hepatitis C Virus in the United States, 2003–2013. Clin Infect Dis. 2016;62(10):1287–8. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciw111. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pawlotsky JM. New hepatitis C therapies: the toolbox, strategies, and challenges. Gastroenterology. 2014;146(5):1176–92. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2014.03.003. Important initial review summarizing the development of direct-acting antiviral agents and interferon-sparing treatment strategies for chronic HCV infection. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lok AS, Chung RT, Vargas HE, Kim AY, Naggie S, Powderly WG. Benefits of Direct-Acting Antivirals for Hepatitis C. Ann Intern Med. 2017 doi: 10.7326/M17-1876. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources