Lancet - Viral hepatitis: will expanded screening measures pass the test?

Lancet - Volume 2, No. 5, p313, May 2017

Editorial
Viral hepatitis: will expanded screening measures pass the test?

Nevertheless, expansion of testing should not be considered in isolation. Linkage to care is the guiding principle underpinning every successful screening campaign. Governments must be convinced of the benefits of treating early to prevent transmission and disease progression, and expansion of treatment and testing must be coordinated. While treatment access has long been a thorny issue in viral hepatitis, so too will be screening without available treatment and monitoring for patients with a positive test result. Testing is the first and vital step in the care continuum, but it should not and cannot stand alone.

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