Hepatitis C generates an annual economic burden of $6.5 billion each year in the United States, but this burden is expected to sharply decrease by 2036, according to a Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News report.
The computer simulated model took into account the launch of direct-acting antiviral medications, increasing availability of oral drug therapies, development of new drugs and CDC-recommended guidelines of screening for people born between 1945 and 1965.
The model also predicted these factors in combination with the wider availability of recently approved treatments would reduce the number of new cirrhosis cases by 124,200, the number of hepatocelluar carcinoma cases by 78,000, the number of liver transplants by 9,900 and the number of liver-related deaths by 126,500, according to the report.