Access To Medicine Foundation

Often searched

Index ranking

Vacancies

10 year analysis

  • Healthcare inequity
    • How big is the problem?
    • How we drive change
    • Our story
    • Our impact
    • How big is the problem?
    • How we drive change
    • Our story
    • Our impact
  • Become a catalyst
    • Investors
    • Companies
    • Government & policymakers
    • Events & engagements
    • Investors
    • Companies
    • Government & policymakers
    • Events & engagements
  • Sectors and research
    • R&D-based pharma companies
    • Medical gas companies
    • Generic medicine manufacturers
    • Diagnostics companies
    • Vaccine manufacturers
    • Research hub
    • Company profiles & report cards
    • R&D-based pharma companies
    • Medical gas companies
    • Generic medicine manufacturers
    • Diagnostics companies
    • Vaccine manufacturers
    • Research hub
    • Company profiles & report cards
  • Cross-Sector Programmes
    • Antimicrobial resistance
    • Diabetes care
    • Antimicrobial resistance
    • Diabetes care
  • On the pulse of global health
    • Access insights
    • The Health Equity podcast
    • Access insights
    • The Health Equity podcast
  • News
  • Our team
  • Featured insights
  • Governance & financials
  • Vacancies
  • Media coverage
  • FAQ
  • Contact us

Access to hepatitis C medicine

The Bulletin of the World Health Organization has published the latest study from the Access to Medicine Foundation: on how the world’s largest pharma companies are improving access to hepatitis C treatment.

Date

24 November 2015

Download this paper

Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). There is a global epidemic of hepatitis C, with approximately 185 million people estimated to be infected in 2005 and 350 000–500 000 deaths estimated annually. Over 80% of those affected by the disease live in low- and middle income countries, especially in central, north and west Africa. Several middle-income countries such as Egypt, Nigeria and Pakistan have a high burden of hepatitis C. HCV is most often spread when infected blood enters the body. High-risk populations include intravenous drug-users and recipients of blood transfusions in poorly controlled environments; but the virus is also found in the general population. There are six genotypes of HCV, with distributions varying by region. It is possible for a person to be infected with multiple genotypes; 55–85% of people will develop chronic infection and about one third of these, if not treated, will eventually develop liver cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. Approximately 80% of newly-infected people are asymptomatic, which makes it difficult to diagnose and treat those who go on to develop chronic infection.

Access to Medicine Foundation

Interested in our work?

Access to Medicine Foundation is funded by

Terms & conditions

Privacy & cookie policy

Disclaimer

Copyright 2004 - 2025 Access to Medicine Foundation - All Rights Reserved