A hepatitis-free future: strategy first, then pricing

The Viral Hepatitis Prevention Board met in London, UK (June 5–6, 2015), to discuss options towards a future free of viral hepatitis. Hepatitis B vaccine was introduced in 1982 and is now included in childhood immunisation programmes in 194 countries,1 with substantial declines in incidence rates; hepatitis B virus-dependent hepatitis D prevalence rates have also plummeted. A hepatitis A vaccine is widely used, and a hepatitis E vaccine has become commercially available in China. Chronic hepatitis B treatment exists, and hepatitis C treatment has single-dose oral medicines that can cure up to 95% of cases with shortened treatment and fewer side-effects.