World Hepatitis Day 2024: a look at two EU-funded projects working on testing and vaccination

Viral hepatitis is a diseases that causes inflammation of the liver that can result in severe liver diseases and cancer. With a person losing their lives to a hepatitis-related illness every 30 seconds, actions on better prevention, diagnosis and treatment are key to save lives.  

On World Hepatitis Day, let’s take a closer look at two EU-funded projects managed by HaDEA that are working on testing on and vaccination against the Hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV). 

VH-COMSAVAC - Multi-country Viral Hepatitis COMmunity Screening, Vaccination, and Care (EU4Health) 

The incidence of Hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) in Europe is higher among migrant populations than host populations. In order to support the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan objective to prevent cancers caused by HBV and HCV and reduce mortality associated with liver cancer, VH-COMSAVAC has introduced an innovative community-focused approach for the prevention and care of viral hepatitis infections. It includes the use of simplified diagnostic tools, preventive measures, and patient-centred referral processes to address obstacles in accessing and utilise health services. Since 2020, VH-COMSAVAC has tested over 470 individuals across Greece, Italy and Spain. From them, less than half (43%) knew what HBV or HCV was and most participants (58.3%) reported never having been tested for HBV nor HCV.

TherVacB - A Therapeutic Vaccine to cure Hepatitis B (Horizon 2020) 

Infection from the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is controlled by the human immune system via an effective virus-specific response of B-cells (white blood cells that make antibodies) and T- cells (white blood cells called lymphocytes, which support the immune system). However, these responses are impaired in chronic HBV infection.  

The mission of TherVacB is to overcome HBV-specific immune tolerance and to restore antiviral B-cell and T-cell responses by therapeutic vaccination to finally cure HBV.  

Background 

EU4Health is the fourth and largest of the EU health programmes. The EU4Health programme goes beyond an ambitious response to the COVID-19 crisis to address the resilience of European healthcare systems. The programme provides funding to national authorities, health organisations and other bodies through grants and public procurement, contributing to a healthier Europe. 

HaDEA manages the vast majority of the total EU4Health budget and implements the programme by managing calls for proposals and tenders from 2021 to 2027. 

Horizon Europe is the research and innovation programme of the EU for the period 2021-2027. The aims of Cluster 1 ‘Health’ include improving and protecting the health and wellbeing of citizens of all ages by generating new knowledge, developing innovative solutions and integrating a gender perspective to prevent, diagnose, monitor, treat and cure diseases. 

Horizon 2020 (H2020) was the EU’s multiannual funding programme between 2014 and 2020.