Availability of hepatitis C diagnostics and therapeutics in European and Eurasia countries

Leblebicioglu, Hakan/0000-0002-6033-8543; Husa, Petr/0000-0002-9190-2610; Ruta, Simona/0000-0002-2492-6073; Pineda, Juan A./0000-0002-3751-0296; Santos, Lurdes/0000-0002-0622-6823; Lazarevic, Ivana/0000-0001-6795-1378; Puca, Edmond/0000-0002-0621-4865; Abuova, Gulzhan/0000-0002-1210-2018; Koulentaki, Mairi/0000-0002-5665-6741; Vince, Adriana/0000-0003-2355-6573 WOS: 000425078700002 PubMed: 29217468 Background. Treatment with direct acting antiviral agents (DAAs) has provided sustained virological response rates in > 95% of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However treatment is costly and market access, reimbursement and governmental restrictions differ among countries. We aimed to analyze these differences among European and Eurasian countries. Methods: A survey including 20-item questionnaire was sent to experts in viral hepatitis. Countries were evaluated according to their income categories by the World Bank stratification. Results: Experts from 26 countries responded to the survey. As of May 2016, HCV prevalence was reported as low (