There has been a major shift in perinatal-child hepatitis C (HCV) care in the last five years. This shift includes the move to universal HCV screening in pregnancy in many regions, which has resulted in sufficient evidence to recommend case by case decision making for HCV treatment in pregnancy to prevent prenatal complications and vertical transmission.
While this progress is promising, many children in the US and Canada with a screening indication are not being screened by HCV antibody testing as recommended at 18 months, despite treatments working on those as young as age three.
This presentation will review updates in perinatal HCV screening, linkage and treatment, highlighting work from Canada and internationally which supports the needs for different approaches to care and practice.
| Mia Biondi Dr Mia Biondi is PhD-prepared in Microbiology and Immunology. As a registered nurse and later nurse practitioner, Mia has practiced in four models of primary care in Ontario. In 2017, she established focused practices in urban street outreach and rural and remote communities across Ontario, specialising in HIV prevention and hepatitis B and C. Mia is an Assistant Professor at York University, and the Director of Implementation at the Viral Hepatitis Care Network. |
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