Micro‐elimination of hepatitis C virus

Background & Aims HCV affects about 71 million people worldwide with 1.75 million new infections a year, mainly associated with healthcare, blood transfusion before screening of donors and drug use. Hepatitis C is a systemic disease with hepatic and extrahepatic manifestations resulting in increased morbidity and mortality in HCV‐infected patients compared to cured or uninfected individuals. Results The goal of eliminating hepatitis C by 2030 is based on the following three main actions: strengthening and increasing outreach screening; increasing access to treatment; and improving prevention. Although the tools and the targets of HCV elimination have now been well established, micro‐elimination, a cure in high‐risk populations, is possible, but has not been achieved. These populations are mainly migrants, prisoners, drug users, HIV co‐infected patients and psychiatric patients. New tools must be developed to achieve micro‐elimination, in particular, rapid diagnostic orientation tests for better screening, delocalization of healthcare services to improve access to care, and training physicians to raise awareness of the disease, increase understanding of its pathogenesis and provide information on the availability of safe and effective treatment to cure chronic infection and reverse hepatic and extrahepatic manifestations. Conclusion Thus, while the goal of complete elimination of hepatitis C virus was feasible in Western countries, it was more difficult in high‐prevalence countries where improvement in the detection of chronic infection (with rapid serological and virological diagnostic tests), outsourcing of diagnostic and therapeutic care and access to direct oral antivirals are urgently needed.