The first International Conference on the Management of Patients with Viral Hepatitis recently held in Paris, reviewed the current information about viral hepatitis B and C as among the most frequent viral infections in the world, but have seen major advances in their treatment in recent years.
"Today, hepatitis B can be brought under control and hepatitis C can actually be cured. The objective of the international meeting, was to give leading international specialists an opportunity to explain today’s level of clinical knowledge in clear terms that physicians can apply directly to their practice and therefore benefit patients," says Professor Patrick Marcellin of the Liver Unit, hôpital Beaujon in Clichy, France.
"Management of patients with hepatitis C is probably the area where the most significant strides have been made. A combination of pegylated interferon and ribavirin has been shown to have the greatest efficacy and is currently the standard of care," says Prof. Trépo of the Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu in Lyon, France.
Some 170 million people are infected by the hepatitis C virus across the globe. It is the cause of 60 percent of primary liver cancers and the number one cause of liver transplants in the world. It is also the cause of more than one million deaths worldwide each year.
Acute hepatitis B is often asymptomatic, but nearly one in 10 of those infected develops a chronic infection with a risk of spreading it to others. Due to the asymptomatic nature of the disease and lack of routine screening among high-risk populations, diagnosis often comes too late.
