Only about one-third of US Hep C cases cured over past decade despite availability of effective treatments: CDC

Only a third of Hepatitis C cases have been cured in the past decade despite the availability of effective treatments, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

A report from researchers working for the CDC released Friday found that only 34 percent of those identified to have a viral infection between 2013 and 2022 were considered cured or cleared of the virus, from a treatment or spontaneously on its own. The report states about 1.7 million patients were identified as having been infected with Hepatitis C between 2013 and 2021. 

The Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan for the United States from the Department of Health and Human Services calls for at least 80 percent of patients infected with Hepatitis C to achieve viral clearance by 2030. But significant gaps exist in patients accessing a cure about a decade after direct-acting antiviral (DAA) agents, which are highly effective, became available. 

The researchers said a course of oral-only treatment with DAA agents for 8 to 12 weeks is recommended for almost everyone with Hepatitis C, and it cures 95 percent or more of cases. 

They analyzed data from patients living in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., who received testing for Hepatitis C from Quest Diagnostics. 

The report found the amount of people cured was even lower among those aged 20 to 39 with other forms of insurance than Medicare, Medicaid or commercial, with only 16 percent of them being cleared of the infection from the period reviewed. 

Those 60 and older were the most commonly cured age group as more than 40 percent of them were found to no longer have an infection. Patients with Medicare were the most commonly cured based on insurance type, also more than 40 percent. 

But the other age groups and insurance types were all below 40 percent cured. 

The researchers concluded that increased access to diagnosis, treatment and prevention services for patients with Hepatitis C would stop the disease from progressing and help achieve the national goals for curing it. 

They called for the implementation of universal screening recommendations, including the provision of treatment regardless of insurance type and prevention for those who are at risk of acquiring a new infection.