A multi-level intervention to eliminate hepatitis C from the Region of Southern Denmark: the C-Free-South project.

Denmark has signed the WHO strategy to eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV). In the absence of a national strategy for elimination, a local action plan was developed in the Region of Southern Denmark (RSD). The aim of the strategy is to diagnose 90% of HCV-infected persons and treat 80% of those diagnosed by 2025. The strategy was developed by reviewing Danish data on HCV epidemiology and drug use to identify key populations for screening, linkage to care, and treatment. Based on available published data from 2016, an estimated 3028 persons in the RSD were HCV-RNA positive (population prevalence 0.21%). Of these, 1002 were attending clinical care, 1299 were diagnosed but not in clinical care, and 727 were undiagnosed. Three different interventions targeting the HCV-infected population and two interventions for HCV surveillance are planned to achieve elimination. The "C-Free-South" strategy aims to eliminate HCV in our region by identifying (90%) and treating (80%) of infected persons by the end of 2025, 5 years earlier than the WHO elimination target date.

[Transient elastography for diagnosing liver fibrosis]. / Fibroskanning til diagnostik af leverfibrose.

Liver fibrosis is a known complication to chronic liver diseases. The reference method for diagnosing and assessing the progression of fibrosis or cirrhosis is histological examination of liver tissue. Since there is a slight but significant risk from every invasive procedure, a non-invasive method has been sought. Transient elastography is a new noninvasive method of assessing fibrosis by measuring liver stiffness. The method is described in the article, as well as its diagnostic sensitivity and specificity, and the reproducibility is briefly discussed by evaluating some studies.