China Hepatitis C Elimination Project Seminar Held in Chengde

A seminar on China Hepatitis C Elimination Alliance Public Welfare Project was held in Chengde on August 8, 2020. Leaders from relevant hospitals in Chengde and Qinhuangdao attended the seminar.

　　Li Mingyang, director of China Liver Health, presided over the seminar. He said that, under the guidance of local health authorities and CDCs in Chengde and Qinhuangdao, the project would integrate resources of project experts, grassroots medical workers, neighborhood communities, social organizations/caring enterprises, systematically carry out health education, screening and testing, standardize treatment and follow-up of patients so as to curb hepatitis C epidemic, reduce the incidence of hepatitis C, prevent and reduce end-stage liver disease caused by hepatitis C, set up national demonstration bases for hepatitis C elimination and complete real-world research on hepatitis C treatment. Academician Zhuang Hui serves as the initiative consultant, Prof. Wei Lai as the chief expert, and Prof. Rao Huiying from Peking University Hepatology Institute as principal investigator of the project.

Due to historical reasons, some districts and counties in Chengde and Qinhuangdao have been faced with the severe challenge of high incidence of hepatitis C, and a large number of patients have not yet received standardized treatment. With DAAs (direct-acting antiviral agents) for hepatitis C treatment included in medical Insurance program in Hebei province, and many hospitals in two cities listed as the diagnosis and treatment bases of China Hepatitis C Elimination Alliance Public Welfare Project since the second half of 2020, the conditions for eliminating hepatitis C are gradually maturing.

Xu Chengjun (director of Kuancheng County Hospital), Liu Yaomin (director of the Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College), Song Yuqing (director of General Hospital of Chengde Iron & Steel Group Co., LTD.), Zhang Wei (director of Pingquan Municipal Hospital), Yang Yandong (director of Weichang County Hospital), Guo Yanling and Yang Xiaoming (directors from No. 981 Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force of the PLA), doctor Wu Baozhan from Qinglong County Hospital, doctor Zhang Yaxin and doctor Tian Xinchun from Chengde Central Hospital exchanged views on the situation and challenges of hepatitis C prevention and control facing various hospitals. It is decided that the Hebei Hepatitis C Elimination Initiative will focus on mass publicity, carry out screening for 50,000 people at high risk of hepatitis C infection from September 2020 to March 2021, and include confirmed patients in standardized treatment and management.

Director Liu Yaomin of the Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College shared global experience and Chinese practice in hepatitis C elimination. Shen Yingsheng, deputy director of China Liver Health, introduced the Hebei Hepatitis C Elimination Initiative and the Hepatitis C Drug Real World Research Plan under China Hepatitis C Elimination Alliance Public Welfare Project. Medlinker, a supporter for the project, introduced the supportive program for hepatitis C screening and testing.

This event is supported by Gilead Sciences, Inc.