Armenian Health Officials Highlight Hepatitis B and C Prevalence and Elimination Plans

On July 26, an international conference on viral hepatitis was held at the Elite Plaza business centre in Yerevan. The event, co‑organized by the Clinical Epidemiologists Union and the Armenian Liver Association, featured Dr Sidarta Dattan of the World Health Organization as a special guest. Experts from Armenia and abroad discussed modern approaches to prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment and elimination of viral hepatitis.

Armenia’s National Centre for Infectious Diseases reported that the country’s hepatitis C national programme, launched in 2020, provides free antiviral medication and that a hepatitis B programme will be introduced next year. Preliminary data show a 2 % infection rate for hepatitis B and 2.2 % for hepatitis C in Armenia. Since 2020, about 4,500 patients have received treatment, with 300–400 currently undergoing therapy. The WHO aims to eliminate viral hepatitis worldwide by 2030, a goal echoed by Armenian health authorities.