Eradicating hepatitis C
Gilead has said it would like to see the eradication of hepatitis C
within 10 to 15 years and with the development of such a cure, experts
say it is biologically feasible, at least in theory.
But in practice, many people don’t even know they are infected and more
needs to be done to test for the virus and prevent transmission in the
first place.
“This is a really historic point in time – any time you make such
dramatic leaps in the effectiveness of treatment, it really raises the
visibility of the problem,” said WHO’s Wiktor. “But we really need to
scale up testing and get the whole health system trained on how to
deliver these drugs, how to evaluate patients and how to use these
drugs. That’s what we’re trying to work on, but a lot has to happen and
it’s not just about reducing the price of the drugs.”
Read more.... Labels: access to drugs, eradicating hepatitis C