Progress Toward the Elimination of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C in the Country of Georgia, April 2015-April 2024.

ABSTRACT

Hepatitis B and hepatitis C are leading causes of cirrhosis and liver cancer and caused 1.3 million deaths worldwide in 2022. Hepatitis B is preventable with vaccination, and hepatitis C is curable with direct-acting antivirals. In 2015, in collaboration with CDC and other partners, Georgia, a country at the intersection of Europe and Asia, launched a hepatitis C elimination program to reduce the prevalence of chronic hepatitis C; at that time, the prevalence was 5.4%, more than five times the global average of 1.0%. In 2016, the World Health Assembly endorsed a goal for the elimination of viral hepatitis as a public health problem by 2030. In 2024, 89% of the Georgian adult population have received screening for hepatitis C, 83% of persons with current chronic HCV infection have received a diagnosis, and 86% of those with diagnosed hepatitis C have started treatment. During 2015-2023, vaccination coverage with the hepatitis B birth dose and with 3 doses of hepatitis B vaccine among infants exceeded 90% for most years. In 2021, the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen was 0.03% among children and adolescents aged 5-17 years and 2.7% among adults. Georgia has demonstrated substantial progress toward hepatitis B and hepatitis C elimination. Using lessons from the hepatitis C elimination program, scale-up of screening and treatment for hepatitis B among adults would prevent further viral hepatitis-associated morbidity and mortality in Georgia and would accelerate progress toward hepatitis B and hepatitis C elimination by 2030.