Health, uninformed Italians on hepatitis C

Italians know little about hepatitis C and, even when they think they know, too often it is incorrect or misleading information. This is what emerges from a Doxa Pharma-Gilead Sciences survey according to which 64% of Italians over 30 know little or nothing about the disease while, of the 36% who define themselves as connoisseurs of Hepatitis C, only 4% say they know very well about what it is. A cognitive gap that could expose people to opportunities for contagion. 63% of the interviewees are unable to define risk behaviors, 64% do not know those pathologies related to hepatitis C (comorbidities) that can be considered alarm bells of the disease. Even the test to identify the presence of the HCV virus is not particularly widespread: 73% of Italians over 30 have never done so, and among these there are above all the over 60s who instead represent one of the population groups most at risk. The 27% of Italians who underwent the test did so mainly for routine workplace examinations (8% of the total sample) or for other tests and checks (15% of the total sample). Finally, almost half of the sample (47%) does not know if the disease can be cured or not, and 9% think it is impossible to cure. Raise awareness among the population, disseminate correct information on hepatitis C, on risk factors , on the test to diagnose it and make it known that today it is a disease that can be cured are the objectives of the ‘C as curable’ campaign, promoted by Gilead Sciences with the patronage of patient associations, scientific societies and bodies operating in the area of ​​diseases infectious, launched in 2020. Goals that become increasingly urgent and important in view of the implementation of the Milleproroghe decree, which, with an allocation of 71.5 million euros, will allow people born between 1969 and 1989, to the people followed by the SerD and to the prisoners in prisons. The ‘C as curable’ campaign then takes the field again with an awareness video and a UGC (User generated content) campaign. Through the concept ‘You can’t remember everything you’ve done in the past’ people will be made aware of the different risk factors for hepatitis C and invited to take the test. “We must not stop talking about hepatitis C, on the contrary. It is good – underlines Alessandra Mangia, head of the Hepatology Unit at the Institute of hospitalization and scientific care Casa relief of suffering in San Giovanni Rotondo – to continue to provide information on risky behaviors “. In fact, the Doxa Pharma-Gilead Sciences survey shows a lack of knowledge of risk factors, including, for example, piercings or tattoos performed in a non-sterile environment, or the sharing of personal care items such as razors, toothbrushes or manicure / pedicure tools. Among the least sensitized are the over 60s, who instead represent one of the population groups at greatest risk of hepatitis C. “Only in the 90s – explains Mangia – after the discovery of HCV we began to use verification protocols on donated blood and infusion. This has drastically led to a decrease in infections. This is why it is essential that even those over 50 are sensitized to take the test and, in case of positive, start a therapeutic path “. The diagnosis allows to act promptly and to eradicate infection. Today hepatitis C therapy involves the use of drugs that act directly on the virus, allowing it to be eliminated in almost all cases (over 95%). Available in Italy since December 2014, the new treatments have revolutionized the therapeutic perspectives of patients with hepatitis C. An important opportunity that patients must seize as soon as possible Hepatitis C is a silent, working disease in the body for years before showing signs of its presence, but there are some conditions related to it (comorbidities) that should set off an alarm bell and which unfortunately, as the Doxa Pharma-Gilead Sciences research still points out, are not known. “There are signs – explains Mangia – such as the increase in transaminases or some kidney diseases or diabetes, which should alarm and lead people to perform a test for HCV. Especially in the over 50s”. the goal of eradicating the infection by 2030 established by the WHO is to intercept all populations at greatest risk, even those who do not know they are. “The ten-year commitment of Gilead Sciences in the area of ​​viral hepatitis and in particular of hepatitis C – declares Cristina Le Grazie, Executive director medical affairs of Gilead Sciences – translates not only into research and development, where the company continues unceasingly to invest with the aim of always reaching and exceeding new goals, but also in terms of solutions outside the strictly pharmacological sphere, aimed at improving the lives of people with these pathologies, of which the awareness campaign is an example ‘ C as curable ‘”.