Hepatitis is now the number one infectious disease killer, ahead of HIV/Aids, TB or malaria, according to data in [s]The Lancet[/s]. Charles Gore, CEO of [b]The Hepatitis C Trust[/b] writes in [s]The Independent[/s] that one of the reasons is the priority, backed by enormous resources, that has been directed at the other three and the consequent impressive drop in the mortality they cause. At the same time, ‘almost nothing’ has been done to tackle viral hepatitis. Gore says within the UK the two of primary concern are hepatitis B and C, which generally become persistent ‘chronic’ illnesses, damaging the liver over many years and leading in significant numbers of people to liver cirrhosis and liver failure and/or liver cancer.
Twenty-five organisations and individuals from around the world have called on [b]SA’s Department of Health[/b] and [b]Department of Trade and Industry[/b] to address the public health threat of hepatitis, by implementing hepatitis B immunisation at birth, and reforming national patent laws to promote access to more affordable therapies. [s]Health24[/s] reports that hepatitis B is highly endemic in SA and across [b]sub-Saharan Africa[/b] and the rates of hepatitis B-related liver cancer are some of the highest in the world. ‘Preventing infant infection is undoubtedly the most important way to reduce the prevalence of the hepatitis B virus,’ said Dr Monique Andersson, a virologist at [b]Stellenbosch University[/b].
‘Studies of individuals who have both HIV and hepatitis C, in the [b]US[/b] and [b]Europe[/b], have shown that they have higher rates of liver failure and death than those with [either disease] alone.’ An [s]Edge on the Net[/s] report notes that this is according to [b]amfAR[/b] vice president and director of [b]TREAT Asia[/b], Dr Annette Sohn, who said: ‘We are now starting to gather data on this issue in resource-limited settings, but there are serious implications for millions of people living with HIV.’
[b]UK[/b] figures show that an estimated 1,200 blood transfusions each year in [b]England[/b] contain the hepatitis E virus. And, [s]The Independent[/s] reports, of those exposed to contaminated blood, transmission of hepatitis E occurred in over 40% of cases. The disease is not considered to be as severe as hepatitis B or C – which are screened for by the [b]NHS’s Blood and Transplant[/b] team – and usually results in mild, short-term infections. But the [b]WHO[/b] says it can occasionally lead to acute liver failure and death, particularly among vulnerable groups such as people with pre-existing liver disease or pregnant women.
Results of two recent studies in [s]The Lancet[/s] show that two new pill-only antiviral drug regimens for hepatitis C could provide shorter and more effective treatment options with fewer side effects for most patients. [s]BioNews Texas[/s] reports that both studies addressed hepatitis C genotype 1, which is one of the most difficult to treat. In the HALLMARK-DUAL phase 3 study, the treatment regimen of Asunaprevir and Daclatasvir was highly effective and well tolerated even in patients who have traditionally been the hardest to treat. Also, commenting on the COSMOS study, Professor Eric Lawitz of the [b]University of Texas Health Science Centre[/b] said: ‘We saw a cure rate of about 93% with only 12 weeks of treatment using an all-oral regimen that did not include Interferon or Ribavirin. This is especially encouraging given the high proportion of participants who had multiple characteristics, including cirrhosis, traditionally associated with low cure rates.’
A new $1,000-per-pill drug has, meanwhile, become the treatment of choice for [b]Americans[/b] with hepatitis C. [s]ABC News[/s] reports that even with insurers reluctant to pay, Sovaldi prescriptions have eclipsed those for all other hepatitis C pills combined in a matter of months. But the clinical and commercial successes are also triggering scrutiny for the drug's manufacturer, [b]Gilead Sciences[/b]. Senators have unearthed documents that suggest the initial developers of Sovaldi considered pricing it at less than half as much. ‘You can’t put too fine a point on the sort of moral dilemma that we have here,’ said Michael Kleinrock, director of the [b]IMS Institute[/b], which studies prescription drug trends. ‘This is something that the research-based pharmaceutical industry reaches for all the time: a cure. But when they achieve one, can we afford it?’
[link url=http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/world-hepatitis-day-we-could-eliminate-hepatitis-c-in-the-uk–but-only-half-of-those-infected-know-they-have-it-9631254.html]Full report in The Independent[/link]
[link url=http://www.health24.com/Medical/Digestive-health/News/World-Hepatitis-Day-Organisations-call-on-SA-government-to-better-prevent-hepatitis-B-infection-20140728]Full Health24 report[/link]
[link url=http://www.edgeonthenet.com/health_fitness/hiv_aids/Features/163092/on_world_hepatitis_day,_watch_for_complications_with_hiv]Full Edge on the Net report[/link]
[link url=http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/world-hepatitis-day-2014-study-reveals-uk-blood-donors-passing-on-hepatitis-e-9632418.html]Full report in The Independent[/link]
[link url=http://bionews-tx.com/news/2014/07/29/hard-to-treat-hepatitis-c-cases-could-be-cured-by-oral-drug-regimen-according-to-lancet-report]Full BioNews Texas report[/link]
[link url=http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)61036-9/fulltext]The Lancet article summary[/link]
[link url=http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)61187-9/fulltext]The Lancet article[/link]
[link url=http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/1000-pill-now-hepatitis-treatment-choice-24752543]Full ABC News report[/link]