Hepatitis C elimination: a Public Health Perspective.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a principal cause of morbidity, mortality, and economic burden, and the global elimination of HCV is now considered a public health objective. Globally, an estimated 71 million have chronic HCV infection with an estimated annual mortality of 3,99,000.

RECENT FINDINGS: The 69th World health Assembly has endorsed the global HCV elimination strategy by 2030, which is made possible because of all oral, cost-effective, efficacious, generic direct-acting antivirals. The public health strategy targets not only diagnosed chronic hepatitis C patients but also asymptomatic undiagnosed HCV-infected individuals, persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), post-transplant, thallasemia, persons who inject drugs, and the pediatric population. Mobilization of state-sponsored HCV elimination programs in a global coalition against HCV has taken root in Egypt, India, Georgia, Mongolia, China, Australia, and Brazil. This review summarizes current HCV elimination initiatives in terms of medical progress, barriers to HCV elimination, and current gaps in knowledge and social outreach from the public health perspective.