Servet receives the Certificate of Excellence for its fight to eliminate Hepatitis C

The Minister of Health has inaugurated the Liver Diseases Week in Aragon, which is celebrated with activities in the three provinces. An event in which Ángel Lanas, scientific director of the IIS Aragón, also participated.

The Miguel Servet University Hospital in Zaragoza champions a fight against hepatitis C and today it has had its reward. The Spanish Association for the Study of the Liver (AEEH) has recognized the “Casa Grande” as an excellent hospital in the implementation of the Decalogue for the Elimination of Hepatitis C. Thus, the Zaragoza hospital becomes the third in Spain that has received this national certification that guarantees compliance with the decalogue for the definitive elimination of the disease. "Our goal is that all patients who have this disease are treated and that all possible new diagnoses are made because there are people who have the virus and do not know it," explained Vanesa Bernal, a hepatologist at Servet who has coordinated this initiative. at Servet together with Eva Fernández Bonilla, also a hepatologist at HUMS. 

Both hepatologists have recognized this recognition and highlighted the importance of collaboration with other hospital services to detect the greatest number of cases of hepatitis C and be able to administer adequate treatment to patients before the disease progresses and their prognosis is worse. 

This recognition was granted at the end of this morning at the Servet as an event prior to the inauguration of the Liver Diseases Week in Aragon, which was held in the afternoon at the Biomedical Research Center of Aragon (CIBA). The Minister of Health of the autonomous Government, José Luis Bancalero Flores, has presided over this inauguration in which he has highlighted that "this distinction is a recognition of a job well done and an encouragement for all the rest of us to follow the same line," he says. "The initiative shows that not only is it necessary, but it can also put a stop to this disease and ensure that it is not hidden and that all those affected receive treatment as soon as possible," he says.

In Aragon, more than 4.000 patients with Hepatitis C have already been cured, but there are still people with this disease who have not received treatment, most of them because they are unaware that they suffer from it. It is also estimated that 25% of the Aragonese population has fatty liver, an ailment related to being overweight and which affects 8 out of 10 people with obesity. Another important factor in liver diseases is alcohol consumption, which in Aragon begins around 16 years of age.

From June 18 to 20, the Spanish Association for the Study of the Liver (AEEH), with the sponsorship of the biopharmaceutical company AbbVie, launches the Liver Diseases Week in Aragon, a project in which different professionals from the liver sector hepatology meet with the aim of raising awareness among the population about the transcendental importance of liver diseases in the context of public health, and the need for prevention and early detection, to avoid the progression of these pathologies.

Throughout the week, various presentations and round tables have been organized in the main Aragonese hospitals, aimed at both professionals in the health sector, as well as patients and the general population, in which knowledge and good practices in hepatology will be shared. Likewise, other types of parallel activities are given (before and after the Week) such as talks-discussions in secondary schools, workshops, information stands on prevalent hidden liver diseases, as well as rapid tests.

Obesity, alcohol and sedentary lifestyle

Liver disease is among the top ten causes of mortality globally. And in the last two decades there has been an increase in the prevalence of liver pathologies, mainly due to risk factors such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

In the words of Dr. Trinidad Serrano, head of the Hepatology and Liver Transplant Section at the Lozano Blesa Clinical Hospital in Zaragoza, and one of the coordinators of the Liver Diseases Week in Aragon: “Raise awareness among the population about the importance of healthy habits. Healthy living for the prevention of liver diseases is essential. Obesity, alcohol consumption and a sedentary lifestyle are the most important risk factors for suffering from some of the most common liver diseases such as fatty liver or cirrhosis due to alcohol. These conditions can be serious and therefore it is essential to focus on prevention and early diagnosis. It is very important to promote healthy lifestyle habits and also do so from a very early age.”

For this reason, throughout Liver Disease Week, talks will be given in various secondary and high school institutes, by resident doctors, on the health risks of alcohol consumption, healthy living habits and disease prevention. liverworts.

Emergency Screening

In addition, experts will especially focus this week on the elimination of hepatitis C in the community. Within the framework of this Week, presentations of the AEEH National Liver Health Plan will also be carried out in different Aragonese hospitals, as well as specific presentations on Hepatitis C Screening in Emergencies in Aragon. 

In this sense, Dr. Vanesa Bernal, from the Digestive System Service at Miguel Servet University Hospital, and also coordinator of this initiative, explains that “the National Liver Health Plan focuses on prevention and early detection of diseases.” of the liver. Usually, they are silent diseases that do not manifest until the liver is severely damaged. For this reason, the plan proposes screening in all people with risk factors. "Different experts have participated in its preparation, creating a national strategy to address these diseases in a homogeneous way with vision 2032." “With hepatitis C,” adds Bernal, “we have already shown that investing in liver diseases is investing in health and, in the long run, reducing spending. However, everything is not done; "There are still undiagnosed and untreated patients and, therefore, more universal screening strategies are being created, such as screening patients who go to emergency services."

Dr. Manuel Romero, president of the AEEH and Head of the Digestive System Section at the Virgen del Rocío University Hospital in Seville, also values ​​this type of initiative to raise awareness among the population about the importance of health care to avoid development of serious pathologies. “Liver diseases are largely preventable and early diagnosis is crucial to improve patients' prognosis. “We want to convey to the population that through safe practices and a healthy lifestyle, both the contagion and the development of these diseases can be avoided.”

Source: Government of Aragon