"Project Sereno," HCV and HBV screening program, is presented

The Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery of the University of Naples Federico II presents "Progetto Sereno," an HCV and HBV screening program aimed at guests over 65 in assisted living residences and rehabilitation facilities. The initiative provides free, rapid and anonymous testing and a structured "linkage to care" pathway for eventual clinical care.

The project is scientifically coordinated by the University of Naples Federico II; scientific head is Professor Ivan Gentile, with Dr. Biagio Pinchera co-responsible, and with the scientific secretariat entrusted to Drs. Maria Michela Scirocco and Gianpaolo Gargiulo.

"In Italy, there are still many people with hepatitis C and hepatitis B who are not aware that they have it; the undeclared affects mostly those over 65. With "Progetto Sereno" we want to shine a spotlight on those who have remained on the margins of prevention, accompanying the positives on the path to treatment, ensuring benefits for the individual in terms of stopping the progression of the disease, and for the system, protecting the community by blocking the chain of infection. The goal is to contribute to the elimination of viral hepatitis by 2030, as the WHO calls for," says Ivan Gentile, director of the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery at the University of Naples.

The screening uses a rapid-response capillary HCV/HBV test by lancing, with results available in about twenty minutes; in case of preliminary positivity, confirmation on blood in the hospital and immediate initiation of treatment according to dedicated clinical pathways is planned.

The "Sereno Project" will be presented at a press conference on Monday, November 3, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. in Building 1 at 5 Sergio Pansini Street at the Federico II. Speakers, with Ivan Gentile, will be referents and clinicians from realities in the area: Andrea Costume (RsaiaIsaia Napoli), Gennaro Marotta and Maria Teodora Valente (Istituto Maugeri Hermitage Napoli), Nicola Ferrara (Rsa San Giuseppe Napoli), Gabriella Crispino (Alma Mater- Camaldoli Hospital Naples), Pasquale Cuccurullo (Istituto Clinic Center Naples). Thanks to the intervention of Tina Muscio (EpaC-Ets) patients will also be heard. Salvatore Isaia, editor of Radio Crc.