#direct-acting antivirals

Hepatitis C prevalence was higher among people with unstable housing and those who injected drugs every day.

Only 20% of people covered by Medicaid received treatment within six months of their HCV diagnosis.

Modern antivirals can cure 95% of people with HCV, lowering the risk of cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure.

Adding ribavirin led to more side effects but did not improve the likelihood of a cure.

Older people, men and people living in poverty and lacking private insurance were more likely to have active HCV infection.

The CDC estimates that 21% of people living with HIV also have hepatitis C virus.

Drug-related mortality, including overdose, was the leading cause of death.

Researchers are working on a cure for hepatitis B and a vaccine and long-acting antivirals for hepatitis C.

A “jarringly low” proportion of people with HCV have been tested, treated and cured.

However, those with Medicaid coverage were less likely to start treatment compared to those with other types of insurance.

Almost everyone who completed treatment was cured, but about 40% of those diagnosed with HCV never started antiviral therapy.

While hepatitis C remains a leading cause, cirrhosis is increasingly caused by fatty liver disease and alcohol use.

Recent drug use along with unstable housing increased the risk of acquiring HCV again.

The burden of viral and nonviral liver disease remains high even in the setting of hepatitis C microelimination.

People with advanced fibrosis—not just cirrhosis—were at greater risk for hepatocellular carcinoma.

The program aims to expand testing, reduce drug costs and raise awareness of hepatitis C.