Raising Awareness of the Hidden Hepatitis C Epidemic

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Raising Awareness of the Hidden Hepatitis C Epidemic

May is Hepatitis Awareness Month. But efforts to raise awareness can’t end when the calendar page rolls over.

My colleague Giffin Daughtridge, MD, MBA, senior director of infectious disease diagnostics here at OraSure, and Carl Schmid, a national policy and advocacy leader in the HIV and Hepatitis community, are committed to spreading the message all year and supporting increased access to Hepatitis testing, vaccinations, and treatment. I’m happy to share their passion for the topic and present them as guest writers for this TANGrams blog post:

We need increased investment and public-private partnerships to combat the concerning, rapid growth in Hepatitis C infections in the US      

There has never been a better time to raise awareness of the hidden Hepatitis C epidemic and encourage individuals to learn their status. As a result of the nation’s opioid use crisis, Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is a rapidly growing epidemic in the US, particularly among younger individuals. Overall, 2.4 million people in the U.S. are living with chronic HCV, and new cases are 4x higher today than they were 10 years ago. Left untreated, HCV is the leading cause of death from liver disease and kills more Americans than all other reportable infectious diseases combined[1]. Today, at least 4 in 10 people living with HCV do not know they have it.[2]

Thanks to advances in therapeutics, HCV can now be cured with a short-duration course of medication. The first step to getting HCV treatment is a test, but the nation’s current testing infrastructure and availability is insufficient. Only 10% of new infections are diagnosed each year, and dramatic declines in HCV testing nationally during the COVID-19 pandemic means fewer individuals were diagnosed and treated for HCV infection in 2020.[3]

Without dramatic improvements in HCV testing access, we will not reach the HCV elimination goals laid out in the Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan. To improve testing, we need to increase the access and availability to key diagnostic technologies, particularly in outreach and high prevalence settings, such as correctional facilities and syringe services programs. This includes both rapid screening tests and the introduction of rapid confirmatory tests that allow for one-step test and treat.

As we reflect on the work that remains to eliminate HCV, we must commit to increased coordination and partnerships to ensure the nation’s success:

·      Policies: Policy-makers and advocates must address policies that create barriers to treatment access block evidence-based interventions, like comprehensive syringe services programs.

·      Technology: Industry partners including diagnostics and pharmaceutical manufacturers must expedite the development of new technology and collaborate with researchers to address implementation science to expand access to one-step testing and treatment.

·      Funding: Congress needs to increase federal funding for Viral Hepatitis. Current funding levels for HCV are an order of magnitude less than other infectious diseases and have remained stagnant for years.

As a partner in HCV elimination efforts, HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute and OraSure Technologies remain committed to working with public health departments, healthcare providers, and the community to increase HCV testing access for those individuals most in need. 

Giffin Daughtridge, MD, MBA, is Senior Director, Infectious Disease Diagnostics at

OraSure Technologies, Inc.

Carl Schmid is Executive Director of HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute

[1] NASTAD, Prevention Infectious Diseases Amid the Opioid Epidemic, 2019

[2] MMWR April 10, 2020

[3] Kaufman, et al. AJPM, 2021