Early testing crucial, say Spanish hepatitis experts:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Spanish hepatology experts have renewed calls to improve the diagnosis of viral hepatitis, so as to improve treatment outcomes and to reduce the spread of the disease. This is the consensus among experts meeting at the VII International Symposium on Viral Hepatitis, Barcelona, June 30-July 1 2003. It is estimated that more than 1.5 million people are infected in Spain by at least one of six types of hepatitis virus, but mostly by HBV and HCV. Only 800, of an estimated 200,000 cases of HBV (0.5% of the Spanish population) were detected in 2002.