Effective Treatment and Screening can Reduce Prevalence of Hepatitis in Next 20 Years: Study
Scientists say with advanced treatment, screening and use of drugs, the number of people infected with Hepatitis C will drastically reduce in the next 22 years.
In the United States, Hepatitis C affects nearly 15,000 people annually. The liver disease is caused by the transmission of Hepatitis C virus from infected needles, unsterilized medical and surgical equipment and by getting tattoos and body piercings. Health experts believe people who were born between the years 1945 and 1965 or 'baby boomers' have maximum risk of suffering the condition. This set of population makes up 2.7 to 3.5 million people with Hepatitis C in the country.
Recently, researchers from the University of Texas and the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health found the prevalence of Hepatitis might cease by the next two decades due to better treatment, vaccination and prevention techniques. They created a computer model to evaluate the disease trend between 2001 and 2050 by going through previous national survey records on Hepatitis C. Their analysis revealed the disease might affect only one in every 1,500 Americans by 2036.
One-time universal screening can identify 933,700 cases worldwide. Early screening and intervention plans can avert almost 161,500 liver related deaths, 14, 000 liver transplants and 96,300 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma. These findings indicate long-term benefits with respect to financial savings on medical and treatment costs related to Hepatitis C.
"If we can improve access to treatment and incorporate more aggressive screening guidelines, we can reduce the number of chronic HCV cases, prevent more cases of liver cancer and reduce liver-related deaths," said Jagpreet Chhatwal, co-author and assistant professor of Health Services Research at the University of Texas, in a news release.
"Making hepatitis C a rare disease would be a tremendous, life-saving accomplishment," added Mina Kabiri, lead author and doctoral student at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.
"However, to do this, we will need improved access to care and increased treatment capacity, primarily in the form of primary care physicians who can manage the care of infected people identified through increased screening," she said.
The research was funded by the National Institute of Health. More information is available online in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
