Background
As part of World AMR Resistance Awareness Week (WAAW) 2024, join us for WHO’s first-ever webinar focused on hepatitis B virus (HBV) drug resistance. This groundbreaking event will explore both current knowledge and critical knowledge gaps in HBV drug resistance. It comes at a timely moment, as WHO is developing an Integrated Global Action Plan (I-GAP) for drug resistance prevention, monitoring, and response across HIV, viral hepatitis, and priority sexually transmitted infections spanning 2025-2030.
The I-GAP underscores the need for identifying risk factors, understanding the prevalence and geographic distribution of HBV drug resistance, and evaluating its clinical impact at the population-level. This webinar will present emerging strategies for preventing, monitoring and responding to HBV drug resistance, monitoring while highlighting key areas that require further investigation.
Objectives
To educate healthcare providers, public health professionals, and stakeholders on the potential challenges of HBV drug resistance, advocate for addressing knowledge gaps, and provide a roadmap for the future. This aligns with the WAAW 2024 theme: Educate. Advocate. Act Now.
What to expect
- presentation on the biological foundations, epidemiology, and public health impacts of HBV drug resistance;
- summary of key knowledge gaps in HBV drug resistance, focusing on underrepresented populations, clinical data limitations, and laboratory challenges;
- overview of emerging monitoring strategies for identifying and managing HBV drug resistance, including considerations for virological suppression and resistance-associated mutations;
- a roadmap for addressing HBV drug resistance, emphasising the need for robust data and standardised metrics in resource-limited settings; and
- Q&A with global experts.