The hepatitis C cascade of care in HIV/hepatitis C virus coinfected individuals in Europe: regional and intra-regional differences

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Olga Fursa
  • Amanda Mocroft
  • Jeffrey V. Lazarus
  • Sarah Amele
  • Raimonda Matulionyte
  • Line D. Rasmussen
  • Jürgen K. Rockstroh
  • Milosz Parczewski
  • David Jilich
  • Santiago Moreno
  • Anna Vassilenko
  • Karine Lacombe
  • Gilles Wandeler
  • Elena Borodulina
  • Johanna Brännström
  • Lothar Wiese
  • Chloe Orkin
  • Georg M. N. Behrens
  • Kamal Mansinho
  • Jose Joaquin Portu
  • Lars Peters

Background: Following the introduction of direct-acting antiviral therapy in 2013, WHOlaunched the first Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis. We describe a hepatitis C virus (HCV) cascade of care in people with HIV (PWH) across Europe in terms of reaching the WHO elimination targets of diagnosing 90% and treating 80% of HCV-infected individuals. Methods: HIV/HCV-coinfected participants in the EuroSIDA cohort under prospective follow-up at October 1, 2019, were described using a nine-stage cascade of care. Care cascades were constructed across Europe, on a regional (n 5) and country (n 21) level. Results: Of 4773 anti-HCV positive PWH, 4446 [93.1%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 92.4-93.9)] were ever tested for HCV RNA, and 19.0% (95% CI 16.4-21.6) were currently HCV RNA positive, with the highest prevalence in Eastern and Central-Eastern Europe (33.7 and 29.6%, respectively). In Eastern Europe, 78.1% of the estimated number of chronic infections have been diagnosed, whereas this proportion was above 95% in the other four regions. Overall, 3116 persons have ever started treatment (72.5% of the ever chronically infected, 95% CI 70.9-74.0) and 2404 individuals (55.9% of the ever chronically infected, 95% CI 53.9-57.9) were cured. Cure proportion ranged from 11.2% in Belarus to 87.2% in Austria. Conclusion: In all regions except Eastern Europe, more than 90% of the study participants have been tested for HCV-RNA. In Southern and Central-Western regions, more than 80% ever chronically HCV-infected PWH received treatment. The proportion with cured HCV infection did not exceed 80% in any region, with significant heterogeneity between countries. Summary: In a pan-European cohort of PWH, all regions except Eastern Europe achieved the WHO target of diagnosing 90% of chronic HCV infections, while the target of treating 80% of eligible persons was achieved in none of the five regions.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAIDS
Volume36
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)423-435
Number of pages13
ISSN0269-9370
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.

    Research areas

  • Cascade of care, Europe, Hepatitis C, HIV/hepatitis C virus coinfection, Viral hepatitis elimination

ID: 313471186