Speaking of liver disease
The most familiar one must be hepatitis B
The continent is a hepatitis power
There are a large number of hepatitis B patients
But in fact, except for hepatitis B
There are also many hepatitis viruses that are harmful to health
Take, for example, hepatitis C, known as the "silent killer."
With the development of medical technology
At present, hepatitis C can be basically cured
In the second half of 2021, nine ministries and commissions jointly issued a document
The goal is to eliminate hepatitis C by 2030
The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine
A group of medical staff in the Infectious Disease Department have already taken action
Established the "Zhejiang one model" of hepatitis C clearance in the hospital
Let a large number of hepatitis C patients get timely treatment and regain their health
Ms. Cao (not her real name), 72, is one of them
01
Septuagenarian hepatitis C has been "cured" for many years
Suddenly, I got a phone call...
Although she has been retired for many years, Ms. Cao has always insisted on exercising and her physical condition is relatively healthy. Especially at the end of last year, the hepatitis C virus infection that had plagued her for many years was also completely solved, which can be regarded as a big stone in her heart.
In the 1990s, Ms. Cao was unfortunately infected with hepatitis C virus during a small operation in her hometown, after which, due to the fact that there was no discomfort in the body, even every time the liver function was checked, the transaminases were not abnormal, and she did not take this seriously, and never received formal treatment.
Until 2014, she heard that a neighbor in the same community had not attracted attention because hepatitis C had not attracted attention, and eventually developed liver cancer, so she rushed to the Infectious Disease Department of the First Hospital of Zhejiang University. Because the drugs for hepatitis C treatment at that time were limited, they could only be treated by interferon, not only the course of treatment was long, the side effects were large, and the cure rate was not ideal, some patients would relapse, but fortunately, Ms. Cao was very cooperative with the treatment plan formulated by the doctor, after receiving a year of standardized treatment, hepatitis C virus could not be detected, and clinical "cure" was achieved, but there was still a certain possibility of recurrence.
In 2018, Ms. Cao underwent surgery at the First Hospital of Zhejiang University for other diseases, and four preoperative tests found that her hepatitis C antibody was positive. As a hepatitis C "cured" patient, Ms. Cao's antibody positivity was normal, and at that time, her viral load test was negative, there was no infectivity, and she successfully underwent surgery.
Just when she thought she had completely "drawn a line" from the hepatitis C virus, a phone call broke her peaceful life.
02
Target nosocomial hepatitis C clearance
"Zhejiang one model" patients benefit
In the second half of 2021, Ms. Cao received a call from the Infectious Disease Department of the First Hospital of Zhejiang University, and the medical staff told her that in view of the therapy she was treating at that time, there was a certain probability of recurrence, and suggested that she take the time to go to the hospital for another examination.
"At first, I was a little confused about how the phone call came to me." Ms. Cao said that after listening to the doctor's explanation, she understood and decided to go to the First Hospital of Zhejiang University immediately for another examination.
It turned out that the First Hospital of Zhejiang University had long been committed to eliminating hepatitis C in the hospital. Under the initiative of Executive Vice President Qiu Yunqing, Sheng Jifang, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases, and Yang Yida, executive deputy director of the Department of Infectious Diseases, led a group of infectious disease experts to actively explore and established the "Zhejiang One Model" for hepatitis C clearance in the hospital in early 2021: this model was approved by the Hospital Ethics Committee, and the hospital information department obtained outpatient and inpatient information, screened patients who had undergone hepatitis C antibodies and nucleic acid testing in our hospital, took the initiative to follow up by telephone, and mobilized patients to come to the hospital for review.
Because of the experience of the visit in 2018, Ms. Cao was "locked" and contacted by the medical staff in the model.
"On this examination, we found that in addition to her positive hepatitis C antibody, she also had a positive hepatitis C viral load." The chief physician of the Infectious Disease Department of Yan Dong explained that this shows that Ms. Cao's hepatitis C has recurred, fortunately, this follow-up visit was found early, and she has not yet appeared cirrhosis, as long as the timely treatment effect will be very good.
"Now the hepatitis C treatment drugs are very good, the side effects are very small, the possibility of recurrence is also very low, and it can also be medicated." Yang Yida, chief physician, introduced that now hepatitis C treatment is basically outpatient treatment, no need for hospitalization, patients oral medication one piece a day, basically about three months can be cured. After three months of standardized treatment, Ms. Cao has no detection of hepatitis C virus in her body, and has achieved a real cure.
03
The "silent killer" endangers health
Hepatitis C treatment has achieved a real cure
Hepatitis C is a chronic disease caused by hepatitis C virus infection, if not treated for a long time, the condition can progress to end-stage liver disease such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.
The spread of hepatitis C, like hepatitis B, is mainly transmitted through blood, sexual life, etc., and eating at the same table will not cause transmission. However, the incidence of hepatitis C is extremely insidious, it can be said that there are almost no clinical manifestations, or non-specific symptoms such as fatigue, and sometimes even transaminases testing are within the normal range, resulting in many people infected without knowing it, and when there is real discomfort, it has generally developed into serious conditions such as cirrhosis or liver cancer, so it is often called "silent killer".
"In the past, the treatment of hepatitis C was mainly interferon combined with ribavirin, fever, leukocyte decline and other side effects are more, and there is a certain recurrence rate, and in recent years, the emergence of direct antiviral drugs has opened up a new era of chronic hepatitis C treatment." Yang Yida, executive deputy director of the Department of Infectious Diseases, introduced that these drugs are simple, safe and effective, there is no need to detect genotypes before treatment, and the treatment course is short, and the medication time is basically 3 months, which greatly improves the cure rate of hepatitis C, the cure rate is more than 90%, or even as high as 95%, and almost no recurrence, making hepatitis C a disease that can be cured.
For the prevention and treatment of hepatitis C, experts also recommend that patients who have a history of hepatitis C infection should go to the infectious disease department in time to seek medical treatment and investigation, and normal people are best to receive hepatitis C antibody testing once in their lives, especially those with a history of intravenous drug addiction, previous paid pulp suppliers, multisex partners or male same-sex sex sex and other high-risk groups should be detected as soon as possible.
04
Future treatment of viral hepatitis is promising
According to epidemiological investigations, the number of hepatitis C infections in the mainland is about 10 million, and the population is huge, which has also attracted the attention of the state. In the second half of 2021, nine ministries and commissions of the state jointly issued the "Action Work Plan for Eliminating the Public Health Hazards of Hepatitis C (2021-2030)", with the goal of eliminating hepatitis C by 2030.
As a leader in the field of infectious diseases in the mainland, the First Hospital of Zhejiang University has launched the "Zhejiang No Hepatitis C" project since 2018, aiming to strengthen the understanding of medical staff on hepatitis C, thereby improving the rate of hepatitis C screening, diagnosis and treatment. After years of practice and exploration, a positive warning system for hepatitis C antibodies has been established in the outpatient system, and the "Zhejiang one model" of hepatitis C clearance in the hospital has been formed, and 104 patients have come to the hospital for review, of which 28 have been found positive, and the cure rate is 100%.
As a national infectious disease medical center, the Department of Infectious Diseases of the First Hospital of Zhejiang University also actively promotes the elimination of hepatitis C in the province and even the whole country, and promotes the promotion and application of the "Zhejiang one model" by holding academic exchanges and work guidance, so that more hepatitis C patients can be diagnosed and treated in a timely manner.
While there is excitement about the news that hepatitis C can achieve a real cure, there are also people who care: when can hepatitis B be cured? Experts explain that the current overall cure rate of hepatitis B treatment drugs is about 5%, most patients need to take long-term drug nucleoside (acid) control, after these drugs treatment, if the surface antigen level is lower than 2000 IU / ml patients, you can try to combine interferons to treat, about 35% of patients can achieve clinical cure. In addition, many antiviral drugs that can achieve clinical cure are in Phase 2 or Phase 3 clinical studies, and it is believed that in the near future, hepatitis B cure will also be achieved.