News

New CDC studies underscore urgency of hepatitis C testing and treatment, especially for baby boomers.

Deaths associated with hepatitis C reached an all-time high of 19,659 in 2014, according to preliminary surveillance data released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A second CDC study, published online today in Clinical Infectious Diseases, shows that annual hepatitis C-related mortality in 2013 surpassed the total combined number of deaths from 60 other infectious diseases reported to CDC, including HIV, pneumococcal disease, and tuberculosis. Further, both studies use data from death certificates which often underreport hepatitis C, so there likely were even more hepatitis C-related deaths than these numbers suggest.

In 2010, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) published the guidance HIV testing: increasing uptake and effectiveness in the European Union (from now on referred to as “2010 guidance”). In consideration of the recent developments in the field, ECDC is planning to update the guidance in 2016-2017. In the light of several International and National testing guidelines/guidances released recently, ECDC has to carefully consider if an update of the testing guidance is needed and would be of added value.

Innovative hepatitis testing projects from 5 countries will be commended by the World Health Organization (WHO) at an award ceremony and symposium about hepatitis testing on Sunday morning, 17 April 2016, at The International Liver Congress™ (ILC) in Barcelona, Spain. The session will showcase the winning entries from 67 submissions and 27 countries, including new testing models for hepatitis in primary care, the community and prison settings. The winning entries come from Australia, India, Mongolia, the Netherlands and the United States of America (USA). 

Hepatitis B and C Could Be Eliminated as Public Health Problems in U.S., But Reducing Number of New Cases Is More Manageable in Short Term, Says New Report  

WASHINGTON – It is possible to end the transmission of hepatitis B and C and prevent further sickness and deaths from the diseases, but time, considerable resources, and attention to various barriers will be required, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.  However, controlling the diseases by reducing the number of new and overall cases in the U.S. is more feasible in the short term.  This is the first report of a two-phase study; the second report, to be released in early 2017, will outline a strategy for meeting the goals discussed in this report.

The European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG – www.eatg.org) runs a comprehensive project to explore, from the patients' perspective, different aspects of ageing with HIV from childhood to mature ages. Following a series of webinars, the EATG organized the first conference about the special biomedical and social particularities and needs of people living with HIV older than 50 years of age in Berlin between 31 March and 3 April 2016.

The 2016 United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS represents an important opportunity for the international community to demonstrate commitment to Fast-Tracking the HIV response over the next five years, this setting the world on course to end the AIDS epidemic. The next 5 years are a fragile window of opportunity; if we do not Fast-Track our response we risk a rebound of the epidemic.

Read the full #HLM2016 Issue Brief including key messages and elements of a strong Political Declaration.

On 18 – 19 March 2016, European African Treatment Advocates Network (EATAN), in cooperation with European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG) convened a Seminar in Brussels for Treatment Advocates from across the EU.  The aim of the seminar was to foster a greater understanding of the health and social care challenges that African migrants living in Europe with HIV/AIDS, viral Hepatitis, TB and/or other chronic conditions face. It also aimed to develop strategies that empower African migrants to be more involved in clinical research and policy work at European level and to increase EATAN’s community involvement with patients throughout the EU.

The seminar, which was attended by 12 delegates from Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Sweden, Belgium and Serbia explored EATAN’s work and provided a platform for discussing the experiences of patients with regards to screening, treatment and care access in a range of European countries.

The Forum joins the community of researchers and advocates mourning the death of Willard (Ward) Cates Jr. - international leader in reproductive health and HIV prevention research.

On March 9th, the American Cancer Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Cancer Institute, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries released their Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, revealing that the rate of new cases of liver cancer is rapidly increasing and the death rate from liver cancer is increasing faster than from all other cancers. 

Liver cancer remains the nation’s second leading cause of death.  While we have made some great advances in viral hepatitis prevention and treatment, viral hepatitis is a leading cause of liver cancer in the United States.  “The latest data show many cancer prevention programs are working and saving lives,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH. “But the growing burden of liver cancer is troublesome. We need to do more work promoting hepatitis testing, treatment, and vaccination.”

The European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG) published a concise description of their Long Term Strategy for 2016-18 and the summary minutes of their Stakeholder Meeting held in Brussels on February 1, 2016.

The Long Term Strategy is the result of a thorough and deep consultation and consensus building within the EATG. The LTS confirms once again the mission statement of the organisation: "​To achieve the fastest possible access to state of the art medical products and devices, and diagnostic tests that prevent or treat HIV infection or improve the quality of life for people living with HIV, or at risk of HIV infection. In responding to HIV, the EATG will also consider diseases frequently seen as co-infections in persons living with HIV, as well as other health issues that increase the risk of HIV infection."