title: Treating hepatitis C virus in children: time for a new paradigm.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus infection is a leading cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality. In the paediatric population, HCV infection is underdiagnosed and undertreated in the absence of robust screening policies worldwide, and a lack of tolerable, effective treatment. The recent advances in HCV drug development allow for optimism, a change in outcomes for the millions of children infected with this virus and a unique opportunity for strategies aiming at HCV eradication. The rapid development of the new compounds has been followed by a welcome shift in the regulatory processes; however, strategies aiming at improving diagnosis, selecting the best combinations and addressing mother-to-child transmission issues are required for the new therapeutic agents to be introduced safely and effectively in the paediatric population and to contribute to the goal of virus eradication.
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute of Child Health , University College London , UK.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Thorne
authors.affiliation: Paediatric and Liver Unit , Meyer Children's University Hospital of Florence , Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Indolfi
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at University College London , UK.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Turkova
authors.affiliation: Department of Women and Child Health, University of Padua, Italy; PENTA Foundation, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giaquinto
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology and Virology , University College London Hospitals NHS Trust , London , UK.
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nastouli
keywords: cure; direct-acting antivirals; hepatitis C virus; paediatric treatment