Infectious Diseases
Infectious diseases like HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C are serious, life-threatening diseases with high prevalence around the globe. Infections are usually qualified as contagious diseases due to the potential of transmission from one person or species to another. With modern medications, many patients can be saved, or life expectancy can be extended significantly. However, most of the patients don’t have access to modern medications.
There are many initiatives ongoing to increase the diagnosis rate, and to improve access to modern therapies. Even in the US, only 50% to 60% of the estimated 1 to 1.2 mn infected HIV patients are on antiviral therapy. There are many initiatives ongoing to increase the diagnosis rate, and to improve access to modern therapies. In addition to new testing initiatives that should increase the number of HIV patients diagnosed, we expect the treatment rate for HIV to significantly increase in the coming years as guidelines in the US and Europe have recently been revised to recommend treatment earlier in the course of disease.
The proportion of the world’s population currently infected with hepatitis B is estimated at 3% to 6%. The number of hepatitis B patients on oral antiviral therapy is estimated to be only 5% of the number of infected persons in the US. Hepatitis C infects an estimated 170 mn people worldwide and 4 mn in the US. In the US alone, there are 10 000 to 20 000 deaths a year due to hepatitis C. Bacterial infections are still a significant challenge for medicine, as new strains develop resistance against available antibiotics.
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
