Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes a severe acute respiratory syndrome, a characteristic hyperinflammatory response, vascular damage, microangiopathy, angiogenesis and widespread thrombosis. Four stages of COVID-19 have been identified: the first stage is characterised by upper respiratory tract infection; the second by the onset of dyspnoea and pneumonia; the third by a worsening clinical scenario dominated by a cytokine storm and the consequent hyperinflammatory state; and the fourth by death or recovery. Currently, no treatment can act specifically against the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Based on the pathological features and different clinical phases of COVID-19, particularly in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19, the classes of drugs used are antiviral agents, inflammation inhibitors/antirheumatic drugs, low molecular weight heparins, plasma, and hyperimmune immunoglobulins. During this emergency period of the COVID-19 outbreak, clinical researchers are using and testing a variety of possible treatments. Based on these premises, this review aims to discuss the most updated pharmacological treatments to effectively act against the SARS-CoV-2 infection and support researchers and clinicians in relation to any current and future developments in curing COVID-19 patients.

Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 71 million people have chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. A significant number of these will develop cirrhosis or liver cancer. Currently, during the COVID-19 outbreak, a high mortality rate has been found in patients with COVID-19 and cirrhosis. New direct-acting antiviral agents can cure more than 90% of HCV-infected patients. The new WHO strategy has introduced global goals against viral hepatitis, including a 30% reduction in new HCV cases and a 10% reduction in mortality by 2020. HCV transmission has changed considerably, reflecting both the evolution of medicine and health and social changes. The HCV is usually spread through blood-to-blood contact. After the discovery of HCV in 1989, antibody screening has drastically decreased the incidence of post-transfusion hepatitis. Nowadays, routine blood donor screening by nucleic acid amplification testing for the presence of HCV RNA has been introduced in many countries. It is conceivable that HCV screening could be offered to people born between 1946 and 1964 in the developed world and to people at high risk for HCV infection such as those who have received blood transfusions, blood products or organ donations before the 1990s, prisoners, health care workers, drug users and infants born to HCV-infected women. To achieve HCV elimination, health programmes should include improvement to access to health care services, increased screening and new projects to identify a submerged portion of patients with HCV infection. Submerged people with HCV infection are both people who are unaware of their condition and people diagnosed with HCV but not yet treated. Based on these premises, this review will examine and discuss the epidemiological changes in contracting HCV, highlighting the ways in which to identify a submerged portion of patients with HCV infection.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) resolution adopted in 2010 recognized viral hepatitis as a global health problem. In April 2014, for the first time, the WHO produced guidelines for the screening, care and treatment of persons with hepatitis C infections. In May 2014, a follow-up resolution urged WHO Member States to develop and implement a national strategy for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of viral hepatitis based on the local epidemiological context. Although blood donor screening, which began in the early 1990s, has reduced the spread of the virus in the population, the WHO estimates that 150 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and are at an increased risk of developing liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition, 3-4 million people are infected each year. HCV treatment is currently evolving rapidly, and several drugs are in various stages of development. With regard to the hepatitis B virus (HBV), in March 2015, the WHO published the first guidelines for the prevention, care and treatment of persons with chronic hepatitis B infection, which were designed to complement the recent guidelines on HCV. Although the introduction of an effective vaccine against the hepatitis B virus has reduced the prevalence and health and economic impact of hepatitis in industrialized countries, the WHO estimates that more than 2 billion people are HBV-infected and 350 million people are chronic carriers.

Although a vaccine against hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been available since 1982, the prevalence of adults with chronic HBV infection in sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia is still estimated at 5–10%. A high rate of chronic infections is also found in the Amazon and the southern parts of eastern and central Europe. In the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, the prevalence is 2–5%. Less than 1% of the population of Western Europe and North America is chronically infected. Given the high prevalence of infections (such as hepatitis) among inmates, prison is considered a reservoir for facilitating such infections. Based on these premises, this current review examines and discusses emerging trends in the epidemiology of HBV infection, with particular attention to HBV infection in prison. The hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) prevalence in prisoners in west and central Africa is very high (23.5%). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has highlighted the importance of HBV blood screening and subsequent anti-HBV vaccination in the prison population. The vaccination was recommended for all inmates, representing an opportunity to prevent HBV infection in a high-risk population. In these subjects, an accelerated hepatitis B immunisation schedule may result in rapid seroconversion for early short-term protection. Therefore, it is necessary to seek collaboration among public health officials, clinicians and correctional authorities to implement a vaccination programme.