Conversation with CDC's Dr. John Ward at the 2015 Summit on HCV & HIV

John Ward, M.D., Director, Division of Viral Hepatitis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with my colleague Dr. John Ward, Director of CDC's Division of Viral Hepatitis, during the 2015 National Summit on HCV and HIV Diagnosis, Prevention and Access to Care in Arlington, Virginia.

We discussed steps CDC has taken recently to improve rates of testing and diagnosis for chronic hepatitis C, including its Know More Hepatitis education campaign, which encourages "baby boomers" (individuals born between 1945-1965) to get a one-time HCV test—they are five times more likely to be infected with hepatitis C than other adults.

John and I also spoke about the need for ongoing patient and provider education on the topic of HCV treatment advances which have the potential to reduce morbidity and mortality and we considered the exciting possibility of hepatitis C elimination, given that curative treatments are now available.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=64&v=92f-sQtaUe8

By Ronald Valdiserri, M.D., M.P.H., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Infectious Diseases, and Director, Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services