Saturday, March 28, 2015

CDC Hepatitis Updates - HCV Testing Makes Public Health Sense



CDC Hepatitis Updates - HCV Testing Makes Public Health Sense
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent this bulletin at 03/27/2015 11:18 AM EDT

Viral Hepatitis Updates from CDC

HCV Testing Makes Public Health Sense
In response to Is widespread screening for hepatitis C justified?, Drs. Jonathan Mermin and John W. Ward of CDC wanted to set the record straight on a number of key points including “the CDC and USPSTF recommendations for one-time testing of persons born during 1945-1965 are based on sound evidence that HCV testing linked to care is beneficial for patients, cost effective, and with the potential of averting over 120,000 deaths from HCV.”
http://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.g7809/rr-11

WHO issues its first hepatitis B treatment guidelines
WHO issued its first-ever guidance for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Worldwide, some 240 million people have chronic hepatitis B virus with the highest rates of infection in Africa and Asia. People with chronic hepatitis B infection are at increased risk of dying from cirrhosis and liver cancer. Key recommendations include: the use of a few simple non-invasive tests to assess the stage of liver disease to help identify who needs treatment; prioritizing treatment for those with cirrhosis - the most advanced stage of liver disease; the use of two safe and highly effective medicines for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B; and regular monitoring using simple tests for early detection of liver cancer, to assess whether treatment is working, and if treatment can be stopped.
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/154590/1/9789241549059_eng.pdf?ua=1&ua=1

New Hepatitis C & Injection Drug Use Fact Sheet
CDC has developed a fact sheet on Hepatitis C and injection drug use. The fact sheet includes an overview of hepatitis C including symptoms, testing, transmission, prevention, treatment, and reinfection.
http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HCV/PDFs/FactSheet-PWID.pdf

FDA Safety Alert
Hepatitis C Treatments Containing Sofosbuvir in Combination With Another Direct Acting Antiviral Drug: Drug Safety Communication - Serious Slowing of Heart Rate When Used With Antiarrhythmic Drug Amiodarone
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/
SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm439662.htm

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