The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on hepatitis B and C elimination programs in Egypt: current situation and future perspective

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are amongst the most common causative agents of viral hepatitis with its severe complications, including liver cirrhosis, decompensation, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Elimination of viral hepatitis, a significant challenge, has become an adopted global goal with certainly designed targets set by the World Health Assembly to be met by 2030. While many countries, including Egypt, have started executive plans for viral hepatitis elimination and achieved remarkable progress, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has markedly affected all the machinery of the healthcare systems and specifically laid countries off their track in their viral hepatitis elimination process. The pandemic disrupted most healthcare services, and health staff and hospital resources were recruited mainly for managing the crisis, which significantly negatively impacted the management of other less severe diseases, including viral hepatitis. Social distancing and restrictive measures applied by most countries to contain the pandemic have affected medical services offered to patients with hepatitis. All supply chains of medications and vaccinations concerned with treating and preventing viral hepatitis have been markedly compromised. Many efforts and strategies are required to combat the severe and deleterious implications of the pandemic on the management of viral hepatitis worldwide in an attempt to get the situation under control and resume the pathway towards viral hepatitis elimination.