Update of Hepatitis C in Colombia

AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe goal is to describe the epidemiology, disease burden and detection, available therapies, and current challenges to access care for people with chronic hepatitis C infection in Colombia.Recent FindingsThere are no detailed statistics about the prevalence of HCV in Colombia; nonetheless, majority of patients with hepatitis C are infected with genotype 1 and having received blood products before 1996 represents the main risk factor. The use of intravenous drugs has started to be recognized as a population at risk that is in increment. Direct-acting antivirals became available in 2016 in Colombia thanks to a centralized purchase program with the Pan American Health Organization.SummaryThere are well-established guidelines for the use of available antivirals for all disease stages and genotypes and sustained virologic response (SVR) rates are 95 to 100%. Underdiagnosis, access and linkage to care, and disease stigmatization have contributed to a low number of patients that have actually completed their therapy.
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research