Recent research is shedding light on people with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Doctor Henry Lowe and fellow scientists performed an in vitro study that shows marginal antiviral activity of CBD against HCV. The study combined 10 micrometers of CBD oil with 3 micrometers of HCV and found that CBD stopped the replication of HCV by 86.4%. Surprisingly, this the only in vitro study that has been conducted. Other studies before 2016 lacked the ability to perform tests in controlled test tubes and collected data based on second hand historical information from its participants.

Presently, there is no vaccine for the hepatitis C virus, and HCV is a blood borne virus most common in communities where risk of sharing drug injection equipment is high. The virus can also be transmitted through poor sterilization of medical equipment in hospital settings or through sexual contact. HCV causes liver failure, cirrhosis, and cancer in most cases. According to the World Health Organization, (WHO) between 130-150 million people globally have chronic HCV and approximately 700,000 people die each year from hepatitis C-related liver diseases. Antiviral medication can treat approximately 90% of persons with hepatitis C infection, thereby decreasing the risk of death from liver cancer and cirrhosis, but access to diagnosis and treatment is low.

Dr. Lowe recently stated, “This new discovery, which has fantastic potential for the future, is especially crucial for people in developing countries, because there is a drug which was developed for hepatitis C treatment, but it’s over $85,000 per treatment and very few people in the developing world can afford this. So it is very important that we find less expensive means of treatment, and that is why this discovery and its potential to manage this disease is so important.”

The Eastern European and Central Asian regions are home to an estimated one-quarter of all people who inject drugs worldwide. Because these areas are comprised of developing countries, the manufacturing, distribution and administration of CBD treatment would be a major economic concern to patients. In the United States, CBD oil can run anywhere between $10 to thousands of dollars. For patients in developing countries who use water bottles for light bulbs, this is definitely not ideal.

Mapping out the process from Dr. Lowe’s study to the actual treatment of patients does not seem very promising. It would have to be approved by the World Health Assembly (WHA), which is the board of directors and the supreme decision-making body for the WHO. Comprised of delegates from 192 member states and 62 different countries, its main function is to determine the policies of the Organization. All 192 members would have to be in agreement to allow CBD treatment to be dispersed through various countries.

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