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2w ago

Major Study Links C4 Hepatitis B to Elevated Cirrhosis and Treatment Gaps

First Nations stakeholders are co-designing a Hep B PAST Plus initiative after World Health Organization modelling indicated hundreds more could become eligible under expanded treatment criteria.

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Overview

  • The retrospective cohort study, published in BMC Infectious Diseases, analyzed data from over 780 First Nations Australians across more than 76% of remote Northern Territory clinics, making it the largest investigation of the C4 hepatitis B sub-genotype.
  • Researchers found that 22% of participants had significant liver damage and 16% had cirrhosis, underlining the aggressive progression and heightened risk of liver cancer associated with the C4 strain.
  • Only 25% of the cohort were receiving antiviral therapy under current Australian guidelines, with WHO expanded criteria projected to double treatment eligibility among those not yet treated.
  • Modelling by the WHO Collaborating Center at the Peter Doherty Institute confirmed that the original Hep B PAST program successfully closed chronic hepatitis B care gaps for First Nations Australians in the Northern Territory.
  • The Hep B PAST Plus phase is engaging community stakeholders to co-design tailored interventions and address outstanding research questions on viral versus non-viral contributors to disease progression.