A nationwide study on the core indicators related to elimination of viral hepatitis B and C in Korea

Abstract

Background and aims: The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes viral hepatitis as a global public health problem and proposed the elimination of viral hepatitis as a goal to be achieved by 2030. In June 2021, WHO published an interim guideline that sets impact and programmatic targets for country validation of viral hepatitis elimination. We aimed to calculate core indicators for country validation of viral hepatitis elimination in Korea. Method: The incidence, linkage-to-care rate, treatment rate, and mortality rate related to hepatitis B and C in Korea were analyzed using the health insurance claims data provided by the Korean National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), infectious disease surveillance data from Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and cause-of-death data from Statistics Korea. Results: The incidence of acute hepatitis B in Korea was 0.71 per 100,000 patients, and the linkage-to-care rate of hepatitis B was only about 39.1% Among those who need hepatitis B treatment, the treatment rate was 67.3%, which did not reach the WHO program index of 80%. Regarding liver-specific mortality, the annual liverrelated mortality rate is as high as 18.1 per 100,000 people, and liver cancer accounted for the leading cause of death at about 54%. In Korea, the annual incidence of hepatitis C remains high at 11.0 per 100,000 people, whereas the hepatitis C linkage-to-care rate and the treatment rate are low (61.3% and 57.1%, respectively). Regarding the liver-specific mortality rate, the annual liver-related mortality rate for hepatitis C is 1.92 per 100,000 people. Conclusion: A considerable number of core indicators of country validation for viral hepatitis elimination in Korea have not yet met the certification criteria. It is required to continuously monitor the certification criteria for viral hepatitis elimination in Korea and develop a comprehensive national viral hepatitis elimination strategy