Blood-Borne Diseases

The World Health Organization just published the first ever Global Hepatitis Report, which notes that the viral hepatitis mortality rate is increasing worldwide, while deaths caused by HIV and tuberculosis continues to drop.

Liver health education seems to be absent from the final draft of the National Academy of Science's Strategy for Eliminating Viral Hepatitis B & C.

In a case study published in Science Translational Medicine, researchers describe what they believe is the host response to the blood-borne disease that has plagued several countries in Africa and caused world-wide panic.

In case you missed them, here are our top 5 articles for the week of April 9, 2017.

Researchers from the Center for Disease Analysis investigated the incidence of hepatitis C in the European Union (EU) and examined the measures that would be needed to achieve the World Health Organization’s ultimate goal of eradicating the disease by 2030.

Doctors Without Borders and humanitarian groups across Europe are coordinating their opposition to Gilead Sciences Inc’s patent for hepatitis C treatment sofosbuvir, the basis for the biopharmaceutical giant’s Sovaldi, Harvoni, and Epclusa drugs.

A recent study has found that individuals with chronic hepatitis B and C infections may have more to worry about; they may also be at increased risk for developing Parkinson’s disease. Not only this, but a change in the microbiome may also elicit the development of the disease.

Researchers from the Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Science have established a potential link between hepatitis C virus and cataract development.

Researchers from the University of Oxford and Janssen Pharmaceuticals believe they have demonstrated an Ebola vaccine approach that fosters immunity for up to 1 year.

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine researchers provide insight on how HCV evades the human immune response and why developing an HCV vaccine has been difficult.

In case you missed them, our top 5 articles for the week of March 12, 2017 are highlighted here.

The first international Open Science Prize has been awarded to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Basel researchers for a software tool that is capable of tracking viral disease outbreaks.

Researchers posit that increased direct-acting antiviral (DAA) coverage can work to completely eradicate hepatitis c virus (HCV) in some populations of HIV-positive coinfected patients.

Should practitioners administer these drugs to patients with advanced liver disease, despite the risks?

Did you read this week’s top infectious disease news coverage from Contagion®?

It is becoming increasingly clear that the hepatitis C virus (HCV) can wreak havoc on a patient’s psychological well-being, even in the absence of a continued viral presence.

Elimination of viral hepatitis depends on individuals actively participating in their own healthcare and management. They can only do this if they understand why and how to protect their miraculous, life-sustaining liver from harm. Education is the key to prevention.

Members of Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres discussed the aftermath of the 2014-2015 epidemic in a recent webcast.

The US Food and Drug Administration just announced that it is allowing the marketing of a new test kit for bloodstream infections.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently published a study detailing a case of Ebola virus RNA persistence in the semen of a male Ebola survivor with HIV.

A new study reports that a substantial proportion of secondary cases in the 2014 to 2015 Ebola epidemic descended from a small number of superspreaders.

Researchers presented their findings on pre-seroconversion window in patients with acute HCV infection at the Conference on Retrovirus and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle, Washington.

Researchers found that HCV infection may be linked to more cancers besides hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as certain types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

In a recent CHeCS study, investigators sought to identify the prevalence of cirrhosis, decompensated cirrhosis, and death, among 11,169 adults with HCV in the United States between 2006 and 2014.

A retrospective study found hepatitis C reinfection rates high are in HIV-positive men who have sex with men from four western European countries.

Here are the changes that have been made to the 2017 immunization schedules, as reported in the CDC’s most recent MMWR.

Regulus Therapeutic’s hepatitis C drug, RG-101, has been on clinical hold since mid-2016; FDA calls for additional data before hold is lifted.

The retrospective study included a cohort of patients from six countries across Europe who were diagnosed with HCV and received daclatasvir during the Named Patient Program.

The European Medicines Agency has fully validated Gilead’s SOf/VEL/VOX regimen to treat hepatitis C (HCV).

Researchers have found that those with type 2 diabetes have a higher prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus infection than those with adult onset-autoimmune diabetes and those who do not have diabetes at all.