Yasmina Kattou, edited by Loane Nader // photo credit: FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI / AFP 06:14, July 25, 2023

Ahead of World Hepatitis Day, which will take place next Friday, Public Health publishes a report this Monday morning and points to the gaps in hepatitis C screening in particular. As part of WHO's goal of eliminating hepatitis by 2030, the institution is issuing recommendations to improve testing.

As revealed by Public Health France in a report published on Monday morning, ahead of World Hepatitis Day on Friday, its screening is not effective enough in France. Hepatitis C, this disease that causes inflammation of faith, would be the most affected among all hepadnaviruses. As part of WHO's goal of eliminating hepatitis by 2030, the national health agency then issues recommendations to improve screening.

First, we need to better target who needs to be tested. Today, hepatitis B and C screening mainly concerns women aged 18 to 39. However, the main patients infected with hepatitis B are often men over 30 years of age. As for hepatitis C, it concerns men aged 40 to 59, so it would be better to test men over 40 years old.

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A systematic test from the age of 40

In addition, the majority of screenings are carried out by general practitioners, yet many are unaware of risk factors. Thus, it is recommended to improve the knowledge of general practitioners on the potential risks of contamination such as drug use via syringes, or blood transfusions carried out before 1992.

Finally, the introduction of systematic testing for anyone over 40 years of age could improve screening for those most affected by the disease.