Striving towards the elimination of HCV infection, Berlin 2018
Globally, morbidity and mortality due to HCV infection continues to rise. However, the availability of simple and tolerable DAA therapies for HCV infection with cure rates >90% is one of the greatest medical advances in decades. This has brought considerable optimism to people working in HCV. The WHO has set an ambitious goal to eliminate HCV as a major public health threat by 2030. Between 2015 and 2030, the WHO targets include reducing new HCV infections by 80%, and the number of HCV deaths by 65%, and increasing HCV diagnoses to 90% and the number of eligible persons receiving HCV treatment from to 80%. The ambitious targets for HCV elimination set by WHO are achievable in many countries globally, but will require researchers, healthcare providers, policy makers, the pharmaceutical industries, and governments around the world to work together to make this happen.
The aim of this EASL Monothematic Conference is to bring together major stakeholders in the field of HCV to combine expertize of scientists, clinicians, regulatory agencies and the pharmaceutical industry to understand the burden of HCV, strategies to enhance prevention, testing, linkage to care and treatment, and current progress and future directions for working towards the WHO goal of eliminating HCV as a major public health threat by 2030.
Central issues that will be addressed include:
The epidemiology and prevention of HCV infection
Interventions to improve linkage of patients to HCV testing, care, and treatment
Treatment of HCV infection
Settings to facilitate HCV elimination
How far are we from reaching the WHO targets of HCV elimination?
The challenge of post-SVR management