Professor Ronen Arnon, senior physician and head of the Pediatric Liver, Gastroenterology, and Pediatric Nutrition Institute at Rambam Health Care Campus (Rambam) in Haifa, Israel, is advocating for routine hepatitis C screenings to prevent infections in newborns. Regardless of advances in combatting the disease, approximately 50 babies in Israel annually are born with the virus due to undetected maternal infections.
Professor Ronen Arnon.
Photography: Rambam HCC
In a recently published article on the popular Hebrew news outlet, Ynet, Professor Ronen Arnon highlights the crucial need for early detection of hepatitis C in young adult women who may transmit the virus during childbirth. This emphasis supports the recommendation from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), which advises that all adults over 18, as well as women who are planning to conceive or are in the early stages of pregnancy, should be tested for hepatitis C through a blood test.
He notes that hepatitis C, once a significant health risk, is now treatable due to innovative medications developed in the last decade. These oral treatments, which require only 8-12 weeks of administration, have a 95% cure rate and are accessible to individuals as young as three years old. However, the virus continues to affect newborns, with around 50 infants in Israel born each year with hepatitis C as a result of undiagnosed maternal infections.
Arnon calls for greater collaboration among healthcare professionals, including gynecologists, pediatricians, and liver specialists, to establish effective screening and treatment strategies. He stresses the importance of increasing awareness among medical practitioners regarding mother-to-child transmission to help eliminate hepatitis C.
The Need for Routine Testing
The World Health Organization has set ambitious goals to reduce hepatitis C infections by 2030. Yet, despite effective treatment options, realizing these goals remains challenging. Currently, transmission primarily occurs through contaminated needles, non-sterile tattoo practices, and mother-to-child transmission during childbirth, which occurs in 5% of births to infected mothers.
Routine blood tests for the presence of hepatitis C antibodies can identify carriers early, enabling timely treatment and preventing complications like liver cirrhosis or cancer.
Urgent Call for Action in Israel
While the United States has implemented universal hepatitis C screening recommendations, Israel has yet to adopt similar guidelines despite expert advocacy. Last year, discussions began within Israel's Ministry of Health to consider these recommendations.
World Liver Day: A Reminder of Hope and Responsibility
World Liver Day recently served as a reminder of the progress science and medicine have made in combating hepatitis C. It also serves as a call to healthcare providers to act on this knowledge, ensuring it is shared with patients and healthcare teams with the aim of eventually eradicating this disease.
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