HCV Elimination in Central Europe with Particular Emphasis on Microelimination in Prisons
Robert Flisiak,
Dorota Zarębska-Michaluk,
Egle Ciupkeviciene,
Sylvia Drazilova,
Sona Frankova,
Ivica Grgurevic,
Bela Hunyady,
Peter Jarcuska,
Limas Kupčinskas,
Michael Makara,
Gunita Saulite-Vanaga,
Marieta Simonova,
Jan Sperl,
Ieva Tolmane,
Adriana Vince
Affiliations
Robert Flisiak
Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology, Medical University of Białystok, 15-540 Białystok, Poland
Dorota Zarębska-Michaluk
Department of Infectious Diseases, Jan Kochanowski University, 25-317 Kielce, Poland
Egle Ciupkeviciene
Department of Gastroenterology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT50061 Kaunas, Lithuania
Sylvia Drazilova
2nd Department of Internal Medicine, L Pasteur University Hospital and PJ Safarik University, Faculty of Medicine, 04011 Kosice, Slovakia
Sona Frankova
Department of Hepatogastroenterology, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, 14021 Prague, Czech Republic
Ivica Grgurevic
Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Clinical Nutrition, University of Zagreb, University Hospital Dubrava, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Bela Hunyady
Department of Gastroenterolgy, Somogy Megyei Kaposi Mór Oktató Kórház, H7400 Kaposvár, Hungary
Peter Jarcuska
2nd Department of Internal Medicine, L Pasteur University Hospital and PJ Safarik University, Faculty of Medicine, 04011 Kosice, Slovakia
Limas Kupčinskas
Department of Gastroenterology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT50061 Kaunas, Lithuania
Michael Makara
Central Hospital of Southern Pest National Institute of Hematology and Infectious Diseases, Saint Laszlo Hospital, 5-7. Albert Florian Street, H1097 Budapest, Hungary
Gunita Saulite-Vanaga
Out-Patient Department, Riga East University Hospital, Latvian Center of Infectious Diseases, LV1013 Riga, Latvia
Marieta Simonova
Department of HPB Surgery and Transplantology, Clinic of Gastroenterology, Military Medical Academy, 1606 Sofia, Bulgaria
Jan Sperl
Department of Hepatogastroenterology, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, 14021 Prague, Czech Republic
Ieva Tolmane
Out-Patient Department, Riga East University Hospital, Latvian Center of Infectious Diseases, LV1013 Riga, Latvia
Adriana Vince
Department of Infectious Diseases, Medical School University of Zagreb, University Hospital of Infectious Diseases, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
In 2016, the WHO announced a plan to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. In this narrative review, experts from Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia assessed the feasibility of achieving the WHO 2030 target for HCV infections in Central Europe. They focused mainly on HCV micro-elimination in prisons, where the highest incidence of HCV infections is usually observed, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the detection and treatment of HCV infections. According to the presented estimates, almost 400,000 people remain infected with HCV in the analyzed countries. Interferon-free therapies are available ad libitum, but the number of patients treated annually in the last two years has halved compared to 2017–2019, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. None of the countries analyzed had implemented a national HCV screening program or a prison screening program. The main reason is a lack of will at governmental and prison levels. None of the countries analyzed see any chance of meeting the WHO targets for removing viral hepatitis from the public threat list by 2030, unless barriers such as a lack of political will and a lack of screening programs are removed quickly.
