Today is World Hepatitis Day, an annual opportunity to raise awareness of the global burden of viral hepatitis, a liver inflammation, and to spark action. This year’s theme is ‘I Can’t Wait’, which highlights the urgency from the global community to improve access to life-saving treatments.
Recent estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO) say 58 million people are chronically infected with HCV while 290,000 die annually from HCV-related liver diseases. In Canada, HCV affects 250,000 people, of which over 40 percent are unaware of their infection.
Around the world, every 30 seconds someone dies from a hepatitis-related illness, despite the fact that the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is now generally considered a curable disease. Relatively new and well-tolerated direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have a cure rate of 95 per cent. However, there are still significant barriers to treatment for those in need.
The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV-AIDS at St. Paul’s Hospital is raising awareness of HCV and its treatment in several ways. Each follows the Treatment as Prevention® (TasP®) strategy pioneered by the BC-CfE and proven repeatedly to be effective. TasP® is based on the concept that early access to testing and immediate, sustained access to treatment improves quality of life and longevity, while curbing transmission.