• Kwong-Ming Kee, Wei-Ming Chen, Nien-Tzu Hsu, Jing-Houng Wang, Wen-Hua Chao, Yu-Chen Lin, and Sheng-Nan Lu.
• Division of Hepato-Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan.
• J Formos Med Assoc. 2022 Sep 1; 121 (9): 1850-1856.

BackgroundHyperendemic townships of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection should devote extra efforts to eliminate HCV. We aimed to evaluate efficacy of the screening and linkage to care in two HCV hyperendemic townships.MethodsVillage-to-village HCV screening using anti-HCV reflex HCV Ag test was conducted in two HCV hyperendemic rural townships (Lioujiao and Yijhu). All residents aged 30 years or older were invited. Those patients detected as infected were referred to nearby hospitals or clinics in Lioujiao and to an accessible outreach hepatology clinic in Yijhu.ResultsThe populations of Lioujiao and Yijhu townships at time of survey were 18,389 and 14,787 with 6086 (33.1%) and 4604 (31.1%) having ever been previously screened, and 1517 and 1071 responded to this screening respectively. Their crude screening coverage rates were 41.5% and 38.5%, and adjusted screening coverage rates were 54.3% and 94.6% respectively. The prevalence rates of anti-HCV and HCV Ag were 17.9% and 11.9% in Lioujiao, and 9.2% and 5.6% in Yijhu respectively, with their rates of antigenemia (HCV Ag/anti-HCV) being 62.1% and 60.6% respectively. Numbers needed to test (NNT) to find a candidate for anti-viral treatment were 9 and 18. For linkage to care, treatment rate by referral (Lioujiao) was slightly lower than by accessible outreach hepatology clinic (Yijhu) (84.9% vs. 93.3%, p = 0.093). Overall successful sustained virological response rate at week 12 was 98.2% (161/164) in outreach hepatology clinic.ConclusionSince NNT was low, it was worthwhile conducting intensive screening in these hyperendemic townships. For high treatment rate, accessible outreach hepatology clinic is feasible especially in areas without adequate medical resources.Copyright © 2022 Formosan Medical Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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