Active participation of the hospital’s laboratory and Hepatology section in the nationwide optimisation of microelimination processes for viral hepatitis through the implementation of rapid screening pathways and systems, swift referral of infected patients to the hospital, and integration into the appropriate care cascade.

Achieving this objective requires interhospital collaboration and, most importantly, cooperation with Primary Care Centres and Drug Dependency Treatment Centres.

Although the aim is to implement this strategy for all hepatic virus infections, the model has been specifically developed for the microelimination of HCV infection. This initiative is actively supported by the Alliance for the Elimination of Viral Infections, led by the group's Principal Investigator, Dr García-Samaniego.

Implementation of sequence analysis systems using NGS techniques to study viral evolution.

Development of collaborations with basic research teams specialising in the study of histone-level epigenetic modifications and intestinal microbiome composition.

The primary focus of the group's work is the study of hepatitis virus infections [hepatitis B (HBV), C (HCV), delta (HDV), and E (HEV)] and related chronic liver disease, addressing both clinical and basic research aspects:

1. Analysis of the role of epigenetic modifications induced by hepatitis virus infections in the progression of liver disease and the development of liver cancer, both before and after antiviral treatment. This project is being developed in collaboration with the Department of Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) and the Virology Laboratory at the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Centre.

2. Design of predictive algorithms for hepatocellular carcinoma development in patients with chronic hepatitis C who have been treated and cured.

3. Study of the epidemiological situation and optimisation of the care cascade for patients with hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection. This project is being conducted in collaboration with Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and Hospital Infanta Leonor in Madrid and is funded by the HDV DESCRIBE programme, sponsored by Gilead Sciences.

4. Study of HDV genome variability in the Spanish population and its impact on the effectiveness of newly designed therapies.

5. Development of HCV microelimination strategies through the optimisation and implementation of HCV detection and quantification systems at diagnostic points.

6. Study of the impact of pre-existing liver disease on the progression of COVID-19.