The hepatologist Mary Buti With her healthcare and research work, she has contributed to the fact that today in Spain we are close to eliminating hepatitis C. As a senior consultant of the Hepatology Service of the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital and principal investigator of the Liver Diseases group of the Vall d’Hebron Institute de Investigación (VHIR), in Barcelona, has focused his professional career on development of new treatments for viral infectionwho are getting the cure of the disease.
“Thanks to the new treatments, Spain will be one of the first advanced countries to eliminate hepatitis C in the world. It has been the result of the work of many doctors and scientists and, also, the strategic plan of the ministry, among other factors “, indicates to this medium, and also alludes to the global strategy promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO) that proposes eradicate hepatitis C by 2030.
The also professor of Medicine at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and scientist in the Ciber group of Liver and Digestive Diseases (CiberEHD) has been awarded the Lilly Foundation Award for Clinical Biomedical Research 2023 for her contributions to the field of viral hepatitis, among other diseases. Among her most relevant contributions are: studies in patients with hepatitis C genotype 3 and therapeutic failure, research on the response to different treatments in liver transplants, whose findings represented a new paradigm and were incorporated into national and international guidelines; as well as early diagnosis and prevention of liver cirrhosis.
Along with the treatments, the micro-removal programs, “who are now focusing on vulnerable populations,” says the specialist. “To reduce mortality and incidence, it is essential to work on this. And now is the time, because we have tools for diagnosis and treatment, thus reducing mortality from this condition,” she stresses.
Hepatitis C screening is carried out in Spain based on risk factors; however, some autonomous communities have introduced it for the general population opportunistically or by age group (for example, between 40 and 69 years, in Galicia). .