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by iLoveOncall23 hours ago |
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upvoteby vlovich12323 hours ago|
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> The target of treating 80% of all known cases has already been met, and deaths from the virus have fallen by 36% in the last decade, just short of what is needed by 2030. Taking antiviral tablets for 8 to 12 weeks can cure more than 95% of cases.

So indeed diagnosing the cases is leading directly to deaths prevented.

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upvoteby shevy-java22 hours ago|
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> So indeed diagnosing the cases is leading directly to deaths prevented.

This is not what the title claims. The title claims that hepatitis C is to be eliminated, aka 0%. This is not possible; anyone with a basic 101 virology knows why. BBC lies here via the title.

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upvoteby noelwelsh22 hours ago|
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You seem to think there is some kind of conspiracy at play. The BBC is simply using the terminology used by the professionals who deal with this.
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upvoteby lbriner23 hours ago|
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Elimination doesn't mean there are no incidences of it, it means no new cases diagnosed in England. This is a result of reducing the cases so much that the chance of catching it drops to virtually zero. Drug users have a range of cleaner alternatives today than 10 years ago so is less of an issue but also if very few people have it, the chance of a drug user sharing a needle with someone who has becomes very small indeed.
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upvoteby shevy-java22 hours ago|
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Elimination means 0%. If BBC wants to convey something else, they should use other statements. The title insinuates this.

> Drug users have a range of

The title does not even mention drug users.

The title refers to the hepatitis C virus. That virus existed way before drug users did.

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upvoteby simoncion20 hours ago|
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> Elimination means 0%.

Not in this context, no. It means the same thing as being cured of Hep C means... there's a little bit still lingering around, but the systems that keep it under control mean that it doesn't cause any problems. The world and one's body are environments that are way too large to get rid of 100% of something without utterly obliterating them.

> That virus existed way before drug users did.

I'm skeptical. Living things have been drug users for approximately forever.

Anyway, a fun fact that I learned when I was getting my Hep C diagnosis and treatment is that the three most common ways to get it are

1) Be an IV drug user who's not extremely careful about their needles

2) Share your toothbrush with someone else

3) Have had a blood transfusion prior to ~1992, when they started screening the blood supply for Hep C

It turns out that -for the sex-havers that aren't into blood play- sex is one of the least effective methods of Hepatitis transmission.

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upvoteby Citizen_Lame23 hours ago|
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It's just legalise phrasing, still a good news. Saldy we lost measles eradication status, and tuberculosis might be lost as well soon.
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