CEEISCAT shares the results of the TÉSTATE project on HIV and hepatitis C
Two studies by CEEISCAT-IGTP have evaluated an online HIV and HCV self-testing strategy, demonstrating that it is effective and safe.
At the IGTP TODAY
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Latest episode of IGTP’s 'Un Bri de Ciència' takes on viral hepatitis
To mark World Hepatitis Day, the podcast 'Un Bri de Ciència' dedicates an episode to viral hepatitis, specifically focusing on Hepatitis B and C, which are considered to be the most severe types. Researcher Elisa Martró unravels what we know about these diseases and discusses her projects, both in the hospital setting and in communities, working with vulnerable populations. The podcast enhances the mission of awareness and dissemination of IGTP.
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Breaking barriers in hepatitis C diagnosis and treatment for populations at risk
A study with people who inject drugs evaluated a minimally invasive test based on dried blood spots (DBS) for the monitoring of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The use of DBS samples for HCV RNA detection and genotyping was shown to effectively assess cure after treatment and to differentiate between reinfection and treatment failure. The results support the viability of decentralizing treatment and post-treatment monitoring for people who inject drugs, who frequently face challenges accessing the healthcare system. The study has been published in the Journal of Medical Virology.
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A community-based intervention for the micro-elimination of hepatitis C in the Pakistani population in Catalonia
Since 2019, around 1,000 immigrants from endemic countries have participated in a new model of diagnosis and management of viral hepatitis that has been designed by the Clinical Virology and New Diagnostic Approaches Research Group of the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), in the Microbiology Service of the Germans Trial Hospital (headed by Dr. Elisa Martró), along with the Public and Community Health Team (eSPiC) of Drassanes-Vall d'Hebron International Health Unit.
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The IGTP and the Clinical Laboratory North Metropolitan Area are the first to publish the complete sequence of a sample of monkey pox virus
The IGTP and the Microbiology Service of the Clinical Laboratory of the North Metropolitan Area led by the researcher Elisa Martró have been the first to carry out the complete sequencing of a sample of monkey pox virus in Spain. This is a milestone in itself, but will also be fundamental for epidemiological surveillance of the infection and the study of future outbreaks as it provides a description of the genetic material of the virus.
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The SeqCOVID Consortium demonstrates that confinement eliminated the coronavirus variants circulating during the first wave in Spain
Scientists from the IGTP and the hospital have participated in the SeqCOVID consortium of 50 health research centres, led from Valencia. The latest study published in Nature Genetics identifies nine variants that dominated the pandemic between March and June 2020 in Spain. The Badalona team, in collaboration with the team in Valencia, detected the first case of the Alpha variant (first detected in the United Kingdom) in Catalonia in December 2020
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New community strategies to promote Health and screening for the micro-elimination of hepatitis C in migrants
The project is a pilot programme for the implementation and validation of the micro-elimination of Hepatitis C based on a community strategy. The validation has focussed on a migrant Pakistani population in Barcelona and the metropolitan area and is now being extended to migrants from other countries where the disease is endemic and to screening for Hepatitis B. The study unites two previously validated strategies to bring education about hepatitis (VHIR) and diagnostics (IGTP) to these vulnerable populations in the community.
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More efficient, reliable methods for Hepatitis C testing in vulnerable groups
In the latest installment of their work to reduce hepatitis C virus in Catalonia, and as part of the worldwide campaign to end viral hepatitis, Members of the Clinical Virology and New Diagnostic Tools Group at the IGTP have found that two diagnostic tests that can be carried out at the point of care are simple and effective methods for testing people who inject drugs, a group particlarly vulnerable to hepatitis C.
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The #hepCityFree movement has been launched to make cities the key area for the definitive eradication of hepatitis C
The movement is being led by some of the top experts on hepatitis C and public health at national level, including Dr Elisa Martró, leader of the Clinical Virology and New Diagnostic Tools Group at the IGTP and the Microbiology Service at the Germans Trias Hospital. The experts are aiming at cities, where there are higher numbers of people living with the virus and they are also where most new infections occur.
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A new step towards reaching the WHO targets to eliminate HCV infection
Researchers from the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital and Institute have developed and successfully validated a new one-step screening method to diagnose active hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in people who inject drugs. The new method will permit better planning of future more effective actions to improve diagnostics and treatments for this vulnerable group. The study also estimated the prevalence of HCV infection in this community and showed that many people tested do not know that they are infected.
