At the Paris Hepatitis Conference which was held this Monday, hepatologists confirmed the need to open up access to treatment to a greater number of patients
In France, it is estimated that 232,000 people have chronic viral hepatitis C. However, only 57% of infected individuals know their status with respect to the virus.
In order to avoid a greater spread of the disease in France, the hepatitis control strategy must be further intensified, as many hepatologists have repeatedly said during the Congress. Paris Hepatitis Conference, which was held this Monday in the capital.
Since January 2014, considerable progress has been made in terms of care and treatment, with the introduction of 7 direct-acting antivirals (ADDs) on the market.
The combination of 2 or 3 ADD, depending on the case, quickly established itself as an effective therapeutic solution, with very few side effects. Thanks to these drugs, prescribed for 12 weeks for most patients, the cure rate reaches 95%. This is how 90,000 French people were able to be cured.
High cost
However, France is lagging behind its European neighbors, because accessibility to these very effective treatments is still limited.
Indeed, the cost of ADDs remains very high. For example, the price of a 12-week treatment is 41,000 euros for sofosbuvir, or 20,000 euros for simeprevir.
Result: Health Insurance only covers patients with particularly severe forms of hepatitis C (severe fibrosis, symptomatic cryoglobulinemia), or those who are also infected with the AIDS virus.
Treatments for all
To allow others to access ADDs, theFrench association for the Study of the Liver had recommended last summer to open their to all patients but also to people likely to transmit the virus, such as drug users or those with co-morbidities, for example insulin resistance or overweight.
The association believes that despite the cost, it was necessary to treat all patients before their condition did not deteriorate, especially since some patients had already been waiting for treatment for two years.
Many hepatologists have already announced that they want France to follow in the footsteps of Germany, Portugal or Georgia, who indicated that in 2016, all patients with hepatitis C would be treated. .
Another priority: to intensify efforts in terms of screening, in order to detect the thousands of patients who ignore each other, by offering simultaneous screening for HIV and hepatitis B and C.
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