Progress and challenges in the comprehensive management of chronic viral hepatitis: Key ways to achieve the elimination

Core Tip

Core Tip: The World Health Organization proposes eliminating hepatitis infection as a threat to public health by 2030. Despite notable advances reached to achieve those goals, many challenges persist, such as guarantee access to complete vaccination schemes for hepatitis B virus and universal screening for all adults at least once in life to screen for hepatitis C virus. Those non-vaccinated against hepatitis B virus guarantee access to effective therapies programs to all patients who need it, emphasizing risk groups like prison inmates, sex workers, injecting drug users, and men who have sex with men, trying to reduce the high incidence of viral hepatitis in these groups. Telemedicine and telementoring approaches are valuable strategies to facilitate more patients access to healthcare systems and should be encouraged. Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic affects all strategies significantly to eliminate viral hepatitis, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries. With available effective vaccines for anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2, strategies to immunize most people are crucial to restarting the viral hepatitis elimination programs throughout the world as soon as possible.