In 2013 the Association will continue to urge awareness of and the formulation of public policy responses to the epidemic of hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) across Europe and on Europe’s borders. The Association will also work to promote the management of HBV and HCV on a global level; this activity is expected to involve major EU-level stakeholders.
Its approach will align with the broad programs of the major international public health institutions, including the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Commission’s agency European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The Association also supports, through its emphasis on public policy, the work of EASL and ELPA in Europe.
Newsletter
The Association’s Newsletter covering clinical, epidemiological and policy issues in the field of HBV and HCV will be issued quarterly in 2013 under Prof. Massimo Colombo as Editor-in-Chief.
The first issue of 2013 will appear in late April..
If you would like to add your name to the Newsletter’s circulation list of c. 4,000, please click here
Past issues of the Newsletter can be seen here.
Journal of Viral Hepatitis
In summer 2013 the Journal of Viral Hepatitis will publish an independent supplement on the December 2012 conference on hepatitis B and C in Mediterranean and Balkan countries (www.hepsummit2012.org).
National level activities
The Association will support and participate in national level activities on HBV and HCV which further the messages contained in the Calls to Action issued in 2010 and in 2012 for countries in the European Union, the Balkans and along the Mediterranean Basin.
National activities in Greece in early 2013 can be seen here.
Other national activities have been budgeted for in 2013.
Hepatitis network
The Association is working to develop hepatitis networks across southern European, Balkan and Mediterranean Basin countries.
Bringing data into the public domain
The Association will produce an extensive slide deck presenting the data, conclusions and recommendations of the December 2012 conference on hepatitis B and C in Mediterranean and Balkan countries. This will be freely available for downloading from the Association’s website and its existence will be widely disseminated through the Newsletter and other means.
New Working Group
The Association’s Working Group on ‘Barriers to care and treatment for patients with chronic viral hepatitis in Europe: a systematic review and evaluation’ will report in summer 2013.
Forthcoming conferences
The Association is planning to host 2 conferences on HBV and HCV in 2014:
Cost-effectiveness analysis of HBV and HCV screening
This meeting will present the ECDC’s work in estimating the cost effectiveness of screening strategies for HBV and HCV infection in different populations across Europe, to stakeholders in the EU Member States. It will be co-hosted with the Viral Hepatitis Prevention Board (www.vhpb.org).
Hepatitis B and C in Europe
A larger conference on “Hepatitis B and C in Europe” is also being planned.
