Increased access to testing, treatment has reduced hepatitis C in low- and middle-income countries
Many low- and middle-income countries have reduced suffering from hepatitis C, thanks to increased access to testing and treatment. Some achieved a 20-fold increase in the number of people treated with safe and effective direct-acting retroviral drugs between 2015 and 2018, according to the
Global progress report on accelerating access to hepatitis C diagnostics and treatment, released by WHO today.
A drop in prices underpins this success
Low- and middle-income countries can now aim to achieve a price as low as US$ 60 per patient for a 12-week course of treatment with WHO-prequalified generic sofosbuvir and daclatasvir. Prices offered by suppliers of WHO-prequalified HCV rapid diagnostic tests ranged between US$ 1 and US$ 8 per test.