Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 14, 2016; 22(22): 5137-5142
Published online Jun 14, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i22.5137
Need of righteous attitudes towards eradication of hepatitis C virus infection in Latin America
Arturo Panduro, Sonia Roman
Arturo Panduro, Sonia Roman, Department of Molecular Biology in Medicine, Civil Hospital of Guadalajara, “Fray Antonio Alcalde”, Guadalajara, 44280 Jalisco, Mexico
Arturo Panduro, Sonia Roman, Health Sciences Center, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara, 44340 Jalisco, Mexico
Author contributions: Panduro A and Roman S contributed equally to this work.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There is no conflict of interests in this study.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Arturo Panduro, MD, PhD, FAASLD, Department of Molecular Biology in Medicine, Civil Hospital of Guadalajara, “Fray Antonio Alcalde”, Hospital No. 278, Col. El Retiro, Guadalajara, 44280 Jalisco, Mexico. apanduro@prodigy.net.mx
Telephone: +52-33-36147743 Fax: +52-33-36147743
Received: March 25, 2016
Peer-review started: March 25, 2016
First decision: April 14, 2016
Revised: April 22, 2016
Accepted: May 4, 2016
Article in press: May 4, 2016
Published online: June 14, 2016
Abstract

Over the last few years, we have expanded our knowledge on numerous facets of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Beginning with its discovery and viral life cycle, its impact on health, the development of liver disease and currently, effective antiviral treatments. The latter point has become of great interest throughout the developed world, where the possible eradication of HCV through specific strategies to reach all HCV-infected people has been announced. However, this scenario is very different in the countries of Latin America (LA), in which < 2% of infected patients requiring treatment have access to HCV medications. It has been estimated that at least ten million Latin Americans may be infected with HCV. Despite the numbers, viral hepatitis does not seem to be considered a health problem in this region of the world. This reality poses a challenge for politicians and governments of these countries, as well as to the pharmaceutical industry, the medical practitioners, and academics in LA. In this editorial, we state the need for alterations in the attitudes of the integral players involved in this situation. A recognition shift could help to create preventive strategies of viral hepatitis and to advocate for accessibility to new HCV treatments.

Keywords: Low-income, Antiviral agents, Public health, Medical societies, Drug industry

Core tip: Global eradication of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is causing considerable interest, especially in the developed world. However, the accessibility to the new direct-acting antiviral regimens in low- and middle- income countries is an unmet need. At least ten million HCV-infected persons in Latin America (LA) are confronted by multiple barriers to HCV treatment. Moreover, for the LA countries, paradoxically at it seems, money may not be the only issue. The health authorities, the medical community, and the pharmaceutical industry are the key players that need to alter their attitude towards the delivery of HCV treatments to all patients irrespective of their socio-economic status.