Egypt has become the first country to achieve "gold tier" status on the path to elimination of hepatitis C, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.
“Achieving the gold tier means that Egypt has fulfilled the programmatic requirements that facilitate the reduction of new hepatitis C infections and deaths to levels that position the country to end the hepatitis C epidemic,” the WHO said in a statement.
"Egypt has successfully transitioned from having one of the highest rates of hepatitis C in the world to one of the lowest by reducing the prevalence of hepatitis C from 10% to 0.38% in just over a decade," the statement said.
The country has even surpassed the “gold tier” targets by diagnosing 87% of infected individuals and providing curative treatment to 93% of those diagnosed.
Political commitment
“Egypt is an example to the world of what can be achieved with modern tools, and political commitment at the highest level to use those tools to prevent infections and save lives," WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus said.
According to WHO, about 58 million individuals globally are living with chronic hepatitis C infection, with about 1.5 million new infections occurring per year.
There are an estimated 3.2 million adolescents and children with chronic hepatitis C infection. WHO estimated that in 2019, approximately 290 000 people died from hepatitis C, mostly from cirrhosis and liver cancer.
The WHO said that four out of five people living with hepatitis C are unaware of their infection worldwide, adding that if left untreated, the infection could lead to liver disease and cancer.
Causes and treatment
Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus. The virus can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis, ranging in severity from a mild illness to a serious, lifelong illness including liver cirrhosis and cancer.
The hepatitis C virus is a bloodborne virus and most infection occur through exposure to blood from unsafe injection practices, unsafe health care, unscreened blood transfusions, injection drug use and sexual practices that lead to exposure to blood.
While there is no vaccine, the disease can be cured with highly effective and curative short-course treatments that last 8--12 weeks according to WHO.
Direct-acting antiviral medicines (DAAs) can cure more than 95% of persons with hepatitis C infection, but access to diagnosis and treatment remains low.
