Hepatitis C in the criminal justice system: opportunities for global action in the era of viral hepatitis elimination

Excerpt

In recent years, highly effective, well-tolerated, all oral direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapies for hepatitis C virus (HCV) have raised the prospect of an era in which HCV elimination is achievable worldwide. Globally, 71 million individuals are estimated to be living with HCV. In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued viral hepatitis elimination targets that include diagnosing 90% of individuals living with HCV, initiating 80% of those who are eligible on treatment, and reducing incidence by 90%. While the WHO’s goals have been made more attainable due to the availability of these new effective therapies, recent modeling data suggest that 80% of high-income nations are not on track to achieve them by 2030 and nearly 70% are not expected to meet them before 2050 [1]. …