A Cure Within Reach: World Hepatitis Day in Allegheny County
Every year on July 28, communities around the world observe World Hepatitis Day to raise awareness about viral hepatitis and encourage testing, treatment, and prevention. This year's theme is especially important because hepatitis C is one of the few chronic viral infections that can be cured—yet thousands of people remain unaware they are living with it.
Awareness
Hepatitis C is spread through blood-to-blood contact. While many people associate transmission with sharing needles or other equipment used for injecting drugs, exposure can also occur whenever blood is shared through snorting devices, unprofessional tattoos, and personal hygiene products such as razors, nail clippers, tweezers, or toothbrushes if they have been contaminated with infected blood. Because the hepatitis C virus can survive outside the body for weeks under certain conditions, even small amounts of blood can pose a risk.
The challenge is that hepatitis C often producesfew or no symptoms for years. Many people don't realize they're infected until serious liver damage has already occurred. The good news is that today's treatments can cure more than 95% of infections, often in as little as eight to twelve weeks.
That is why awareness matters—but awareness alone is not enough. Communities need accessible testing, compassionate care, and trusted providers who meet people where they are.
Testing
Every day, Central Outreach's Mobile Outreach services, including its Hep C Cure Squad and Street Outreach programs, bring that care directly into neighborhoods across Pennsylvania and Ohio. Whether providing testing in the community, connecting patients to treatment in their homes, or working alongside recovery and treatment facilities, the team is helping remove barriers that have historically kept people from receiving lifesaving care.
The impact is measurable.
Treatment
During the first six months of 2026, HepCMyWay's outreach team performed 645 hepatitis C tests across Allegheny County. Those screenings identified 23 newly diagnosed individuals and re-engaged 128 people already living with hepatitis C. Today, 85 people are actively progressing through the care continuum, while 15 have already completed treatment and achieved cure.
Every diagnosis is an opportunity to interrupt transmission, prevent serious liver disease, and connect someone with life-changing treatment. Advances in antiviral medications have transformed hepatitis C care, with many patients now able to achieve a cure through an oral treatment regimen completed in as little as 8 to 12 weeks.
Prevention
Allegheny County continues to report hundreds of chronic hepatitis C cases each year, with 615 reported cases in 2022, 573 in 2023, and 552 in 2024. While this downward trend is encouraging, it also reminds us that the work is far from over.
This World Hepatitis Day also marks an exciting milestone for our region.
HepCMyWay is preparing to open its Hepatitis C Center of Excellence at 925 Brighton Road on Pittsburgh's North Side. The Center is being established in a community where outreach efforts and public health data continue to demonstrate significant need, bringing comprehensive hepatitis C care closer to the individuals who need it most.
The Center of Excellence will provide hepatitis C testing, evaluation, and curative treatment while integrating:
- Referrals to Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) and Certified Recovery Specialists
- Harm reduction services
- Behavioral health referrals
- Navigation to housing, transportation, food assistance, and other essential resources
By bringing these services together under one roof, the Center aims to improve health outcomes while addressing the social factors that often stand between patients and care.
As we prepare to welcome patients in the coming weeks—and as we expand this model into Ohio—World Hepatitis Day reminds us that eliminating hepatitis C is no longer an aspiration. It is an achievable public health goal.
Every conversation reduces stigma. Every community outreach event. Every person tested. Every patient connected to care. Every cure achieved.
Together, these are the steps that bring us closer to a future free from hepatitis C.
