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Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Injecting drug use is the predominant mode of transmission in developed countries. Highly effective and well tolerated direct acting antiviral (DAA) therapies have revolutionised hepatitis C treatment, and the Australian Department of Health aims to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health problem in Australia by 2030, in accordance with World Health Organization targets.

Engaging people who inject drugs with hepatitis C testing and treatment will be crucial to elimination. Routine hepatitis C testing in community health services attended by people who inject drugs increases their engagement with care. Supervised injecting facilities offer an effective, evidence‐based harm reduction strategy that reduces the risks of death from overdose and of blood‐borne virus transmission. They care for people more likely to engage in high risk injecting behaviours, among whom the prevalence of hepatitis C is higher than in the general community. The effectiveness of hepatitis C programs in supervised injecting facilities has not been investigated in detail.

This MJA research shares more.

Learning Outcomes

1. Explain key components of the research
2. List main findings
3. Apply findings when engaging with people at high risk of hepatitis C.

Details

Author: Michael B MacIsaac, Bradley Whitton, Adrian Hubble, Shelley Cogger, Matthew Penn, Anthony Weeks, Kasey Elmore, David Pemberton, Jenine Anderson, Rebecca Howard, Una McKeever, Timothy Papaluca, Margaret E Hellard, Mark Stoove, David Wilson, Alisa Pedrana, Joseph Doyle, Nico Clark, Jacinta Holmes and Alexander J Thompson

Article Type: Research