Ksenija Bojovic1, Jasmina Simonovic-Babic2, Zeljko Mijailovic3, Ivana Milosevic4, Maja Jovanovic5, Maja Ruzic6, Tatjana Cvejic Pasic7, Petar Svorcan8, Milena Petrovic9, Jelena Jordovic10. 1. Clinic for Infectious and tropical diseases, Clinical Center Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia. ksenijabojovi@gmail.com. 2. Clinic for Infectious and tropical diseases, Clinical Center Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia. jasmina.simonovic-babic@mfbu.bg.rs. 3. Department of Infectious disease, Clinical Center Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia. drmijailovic70@gmail.com. 4. Clinic for Infectious and tropical diseases, Clinical Center Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia. ivana.milosevic00@gmail.com. 5. Department of Infectious disease, Clinical Center Niš, Niš, Serbia. drmajajovanovic@yahoo.com. 6. Department of Infectious disease, Clinical Center Vojvodina, Novi Sad, Serbia. ruzic.maja.ns@gmail.com. 7. Clinic for Gastroenterology, Clinical Center Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia. dr.tatjana.cvejic@gmail.com. 8. Medical School, University of Belgrade, Serbia. svorcanp@open.telekom.rs. 9. Merck Sharp and Dohme d.o.o., Belgrade, Serbia. milena_petrovic@merck.com. 10. Clinic for Infectious and tropical diseases, Clinical Center Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia. jelenajejelena@yahoo.com.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Serbia has an intermediate estimated prevalence of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection, approximately 1.13%, with hepatitis C remaining one of the leading causes of liver-related morbidity and mortality in Serbia with impaired quality of life and overwhelming cost of treating its complications As the availability of new treatment options and resources for screening remains limited, micro-elimination of CHC becomes a top priority. METHODS: Review of the available published data related to the clinical and epidemiological situation of the hepatitis C infection in Serbia, including the unpublished data from the databases of four major reference centres in Serbia (Clinical Center Serbia, Clinical Center Niš, Clinical Center Vojvodina and Clinical Center Kragujevac). RESULTS: Currently in Serbia, micro-elimination appears to be realistic in the patients with haemophilia, who represent a small, well-defined subpopulation, under constant monitoring by the healthcare system. Other feasible targets for micro-elimination of CHC infection in Serbia are patients on hemodialysis, prisoners and people who inject drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Micro-elimination is feasible in Serbia, especially in the subpopulation of patients with haemophilia. This may represent an initial step towards achieving the WHO objective to eliminate hepatitis C infection by 2030. Copyright (c) 2020 Ksenija Bojovic, Jasmina Simonovic-Babic, Zeljko Mijailovic, Ivana Milosevic, Maja Jovanovic, Maja Ruzic, Tatjana Cvejic-Pasic, Petar Svorcan, Milena Petrovic, Jelena Jordovic.
BACKGROUND: Serbia has an intermediate estimated prevalence of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection, approximately 1.13%, with hepatitis C remaining one of the leading causes of liver-related morbidity and mortality in Serbia with impaired quality of life and overwhelming cost of treating its complications As the availability of new treatment options and resources for screening remains limited, micro-elimination of CHC becomes a top priority. METHODS: Review of the available published data related to the clinical and epidemiological situation of the hepatitis C infection in Serbia, including the unpublished data from the databases of four major reference centres in Serbia (Clinical Center Serbia, Clinical Center Niš, Clinical Center Vojvodina and Clinical Center Kragujevac). RESULTS: Currently in Serbia, micro-elimination appears to be realistic in the patients with haemophilia, who represent a small, well-defined subpopulation, under constant monitoring by the healthcare system. Other feasible targets for micro-elimination of CHC infection in Serbia are patients on hemodialysis, prisoners and people who inject drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Micro-elimination is feasible in Serbia, especially in the subpopulation of patients with haemophilia. This may represent an initial step towards achieving the WHO objective to eliminate hepatitis C infection by 2030. Copyright (c) 2020 Ksenija Bojovic, Jasmina Simonovic-Babic, Zeljko Mijailovic, Ivana Milosevic, Maja Jovanovic, Maja Ruzic, Tatjana Cvejic-Pasic, Petar Svorcan, Milena Petrovic, Jelena Jordovic.
Entities:
Keywords:
Serbia; hepatitis C infection; micro-elimination