Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Commissioner Jee Young-mee poses at her office in Osong, North Chungcheong Province. Starting next year, people aged 56 or older will be allowed to receive free screening tests for hepatitis C. Courtesy of Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency
Hepatitis C, commonly known as a silent killer, leads to chronic liver disease that progressively damages the organ over time. Most individuals show no clear symptoms for years, until the virus begins to cause severe health complications.
By the time a person becomes aware of the infection, it is often too late to undo the damage already inflicted on the liver.
Such outcomes should be prevented, says Jee Young-mee, commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Equipped with the ability to detect and treat the disease effectively, Korea could lead in the international effort to stamp it out, she noted.
“The eradication of any major disease would be every health policymaker’s dream. Smallpox, polio and the plague known ... have all been nearly or completely eradicated in many countries,” Jee said in a recent written interview, adding that hepatitis C could well be the next. “The government has shown its determination to eliminate hepatitis C by including it in the list of diseases covered by the national health checkup program. I ask everyone to join the effort.”
Starting next year, people aged 56 or older — the group most vulnerable to the risk of infection — will be eligible for free hepatitis C screening tests.
Jee believes this scheme could help save many lives in a country where liver-related illnesses remain one of the leading causes of death among men in their 30s and 40s.
“Hepatitis C requires screening more than any other disease … Once infected, some patients show jaundice-like symptoms. But 70 percent show no symptoms at all. They don’t take any screening exams because there are no symptoms. As a result, they don’t know whether they have it.”
If left untreated, hepatitis C can lead to irreversible health problems, such as the swelling of the liver, caused by inflammation, cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) and liver cancer, she said.
It is unclear how many people have been infected with hepatitis C in Korea. However, according to the KDCA and the Korean Association for the Study of the Liver, the figure is estimated to be more than 300,000.
Until recent years, the disease had been neglected as policymakers focused on other health priorities. However, mass infection incidents at clinics in Seoul, Wonju and Jecheon in the 2010s prompted health authorities to implement measures to prevent future occurrences. At the time, the reuse of needles and syringes was believed to be the cause of these outbreaks.
A medical worker takes a blood sample at a health checkup center for men subject to mandatory military service in Seoul, Feb. 1. A blood test can detect hepatitis C. Newsis
The hepatitis C virus is spread through exposure to an infected person’s blood. Sharing drug-use equipment or piercing tools are among the high-risk activities, according to experts.
There is no vaccine for hepatitis C, but it can be treated with antiviral medications. In recent years, highly effective drugs have been developed and released into the market.
“If detected and treated early, 97 to 98 percent of all cases can be cured. This is why efforts for early detection are critical,” Jee said.
In addition to the government-funded checkup program, the KDCA will strengthen its ability to rapidly conduct epidemiological investigations into cases of outbreaks and reinforce its capacity to collect and sort data, which could be utilized for related studies in the future.
In the coming months, Jee stated that her agency would intensify its efforts to raise public awareness of the disease and emphasize the importance of early detection for improved public health.
“Additionally, we would develop clinical guidelines for hospitals and other care providers in regard to hepatitis C. The guidelines would contain information such as the latest treatment methods and would be distributed to all relevant organizations by the end of this year,” Jee said. “Fortunately, the number of cases has been on a downward trend since 2020. With our renewed efforts and screening program, we expect that trend to accelerate.”
In 2016, the World Health Organization General Assembly unanimously adopted a strategy to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030 and called on member countries to aggressively implement policy measures to control hepatitis across the globe.