TY - JOUR TI - Aiming towards hepatitis C virus elimination in Greece AU - Papatheodoridis, G.V. AU - Goulis, J. AU - Sypsa, V. AU - Lionis, C. AU - Manolakopoulos, S. AU - Elefsiniotis, I. AU - Anagnostou, O. AU - Tsoulas, C. AU - Hatzakis, A. AU - Dalekos, G.N. JO - Annals of Gastroenterological Surgery PY - 2019 VL - 32 TODO - 4 SP - 321-329 PB - Hellenic Society of Gastroenterology SN - null TODO - 10.20524/aog.2019.0375 TODO - antivirus agent; elbasvir plus grazoprevir; glecaprevir plus pibrentasvir; ledipasvir plus sofosbuvir; nonstructural protein 5A inhibitor; ombitasvir plus paritaprevir plus ritonavir; ribavirin; sofosbuvir plus velpatasvir; sofosbuvir plus velpatasvir plus voxilaprevir, Article; beta thalassemia; chronic hepatitis C; disease elimination; disease severity; enzyme linked immunosorbent assay; follow up; general practitioner; genotype; Greece; hemoglobinopathy; Hepatitis C virus; high risk population; human; liver cirrhosis; liver disease; mass screening; morbidity; mortality; opiate substitution treatment; patient care; prevalence; primary health care; sustained virologic response; transient elastography; viral clearance; viremia; virus load TODO - There are estimated to be 74,000-134,000 patients living with chronic hepatitis C in Greece, but only 20-30% of them are aware of their disease status. In July 2017, the Hellenic National Plan for Hepatitis C was announced in alignment with the World Health Organization goals for the eradication of hepatitis C virus (HCV) by the year 2030. This article discusses the epidemiology and current treatment of chronic hepatitis C in Greece. Additionally the authors propose actions on how to bring back to care diagnosed patients lost to follow up, optimize access to care for HCV-infected people who inject drugs, and increase HCV screening in the general population. The medical community in Greece can play a pivotal role in the implementation of the HCV National Plan and in the efforts to reach the goal of HCV elimination. © 2019 Hellenic Society of Gastroenterology. ER -