Baressa, a small town in the Oristano area, has reached a historic milestone: it is officially the first municipality in Italy to be declared HCV-free, meaning it has no active cases of hepatitis C.
This is confirmed by the results of a mass screening conducted last May by the team from the Liver Diseases Unit of the Cagliari University Hospital in collaboration with the Department of Medical Sciences at the University of Cagliari.
The numbers speak for themselves: out of 453 residents, 366 citizens voluntarily took the test, equal to an 80.8% participation rate.
Only one case initially tested positive, but subsequent investigations ruled out the active presence of the virus. The result? A positivity rate of 0.27%, equivalent to zero current infections.
Professor Luchino Chessa, a hepatologist at the Duilio Casula Polyclinic in Cagliari and the project's scientific director, emphasized the initiative's importance: "The direct involvement of the mayor and the city council played a fundamental role. Baressa is a virtuous example of collaboration between community medicine, the university, and local institutions."
The screening, which took place on May 23 and 24, included not only permanent residents, but also approximately one hundred people living in the municipality for work or study. Only a portion of the residents—approximately 80—who are abroad or in other Italian regions for professional reasons were excluded.
To celebrate this important milestone, an official ceremony will be held on Saturday, July 26th at 7:00 p.m., in the City Council Chamber, marking World Hepatitis Day. AOU hepatologists will present Mayor Mauro Cau with a commemorative plaque certifying the City's HCV-free status.
The goal, according to Professor Chessa, is clear: "Only with targeted local initiatives can we create HCV-free areas. Testing is a simple but essential tool for promptly identifying potential positive cases and raising public awareness of risk factors."
Baressa's success also represents a concrete step toward the goal set by the World Health Organization: reducing new HCV infections by 80% and related mortality by 65% by 2030.
