Hepatitis C Weekly News

‘Doctors told me I’d die before I left school’
“”If you’re lucky, you have about two years. But you probably won’t live long enough to leave school.” Those were the words Mark Ward says he will never forget hearing from a doctor at London’s Royal Free Hospital in 1984 when he was told he had contracted HIV from contaminated blood products, used to treat his haemophilia.”

Substance use disorders are underdiagnosed and undertreated among formerly incarcerated Virginians, VCU-led study finds
“People recently released from prison experience some of the highest rates of substance use disorder, but they are also the least likely to have access to providers who can diagnose and treat their addiction. New research led by Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Population Health is shedding light on the magnitude of these health disparities in Virginia and what policies might help people receive lifesaving care.”

DAA Use Increased After State Medicaid Programs Eased HCV Treatment Restrictions
“Results published in JAMA Health Forum allude to the potential to improve access to curative HCV treatment by further loosening or eliminating such restrictions, supported by evidence of a significant increase in the number of patients treated for HCV across 32 state Medicaid programs that eased or eliminated their coverage restrictions compared to those that maintained restrictions.”

World Liver Day: Prioritizing Viral Hepatitis Screening With Comprehensive Testing
“The primary reason to screen for Hepatitis B and C infection is to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with chronic liver disease and to curtail transmission.”

Video:

Facilitated Telemedicine’s Potential for Increasing Access to HCV Treatment with Andrew Talal, MD

Deaths From Viral Hepatitis Are on the Rise
“Viral hepatitis is now the second leading infectious cause of death globally after tuberculosis, the World Health Organization’s report reveals. Viral hepatitis testing and treatment coverage rates have stalled despite improved diagnostic and treatment tools and decreasing product prices, according to the report released at the World Hepatitis Summit.”

Gilead Awards US$4 Million Globally (Excluding the United States) Through the Gilead ALL4LIVER Grant
“SINGAPORE, April 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD), announced a global distribution of US$4 million through its ALL4LIVER Grant (“Grant”) to support community-backed innovative projects associated with hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), and hepatitis D (HDV) in conjunction with the World Hepatitis Summit (“Summit”).”

Canada Set to Miss WHO Hepatitis C Elimination Goal: Study
“Canada will not reach the original World Health Organization’s (WHO) target of eliminating the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) by 2030 and lags in comparison to other developed countries, a new study led by researchers at the University of Waterloo has found.”

Half of People With Hepatitis Are Scared to Share Their Diagnosis
“Half of Europeans living with hepatitis B (HBV) or hepatitis C (HCV) struggle to share their diagnosis with others due to stigma, according to a multicountry study presented at the World Hepatitis Summit.”

Video:

Curing Hepatitis C: The Dr. Raymond Schinazi story (part 2)

Hepatitis C cases dropped in the US. Health officials unsure if it’s a blip or trend
“NEW YORK — New U.S. hepatitis C infections dropped slightly in 2022, a surprising improvement after more than a decade of steady increases, federal health officials said Wednesday.”
READ THE REPORT Hepatitis C Surveillance 2022

Telehealth Improves Hepatitis C Treatment in Patients With Opioid Use Disorder
“Facilitated telemedicine integrated into an opioid treatment program led to better hepatitis C virus (HCV) cure rates compared with usual referral-based care, a randomized clinical trial showed. In an intention-to-treat analysis, sustained virologic response (SVR) rates were substantially higher for those who had facilitated telemedicine compared with those referred for usual care (90.3% vs 39.4%), with a nearly threefold higher odds of achieving a cure (OR 2.9, 95% CI 2.0-3.5, P<0.001), Andrew Talal, MD, MPH, of the University at Buffalo, and colleagues reported in JAMA.”

Judge rejects group’s attempt to open safe injection site in Philadelphia
“A federal judge in Philadelphia rejected a nonprofit’s attempt to open a safe drug-injection site in the city. Safehouse, the organization that seeks to provide overdose prevention services, said the threat of prosecution by the Department of Justice over potentially violating drug laws is hindering its religious rights as a group.”

B.C. government makes hepatitis C treatment available to all residents
“The B.C. government will now allow anyone living with chronic hepatitis C to access treatment, even in its early stages. “What we hope, of course, is from a health cost perspective that it avoids more serious illness later on,” said B.C. health minister Adrian Dix.”

Hepatitis C Treatment Ruling Adds to State Prison Health Tab
“The state may have to pay millions of dollars more in treatment costs for inmates infected with hepatitis C, following a federal judge’s ruling that said prison officials have been “deliberately indifferent” in caring for thousands of inmates infected with the virus.”

Preventing Mother-to-Child Transmission of Hepatitis C
“Treating hepatitis C virus (HCV) in pregnant women can potentially eliminate maternal HCV during prenatal care and reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission. Previous research shows how plasma levels of sofosbuvir (SOF), a medication in HCV treatment, were 38% higher in pregnant women, while levels of its inactive metabolite (007) were 38% lower than in non-pregnant individuals. Inside cells, SOF is transformed into its active metabolite, 007-triphosphate (007-TP), serving as a measure of drug activation in various tissues and as a marker of medication adherence.”

And Then There Was One: HCV Elimination in the Coinfected Population
“The treatment of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) has evolved considerably in the past 15 years. Second-generation direct-acting antivirals entered the market in late 2014. Today we have well-tolerated, short-course (generally 8-12 weeks), pangenotypic options with greater than 95% efficacy to achieve cure or sustained virologic response (SVR). In the World Health Organization’s (WHO) most recent global health sector strategies for 2022 to 2030, it is estimated that the treatment of HCV worldwide increased 10-fold since 2015.”

Insights from patient who cleared hepatitis C could lead to vaccine
“By studying individuals who spontaneously clear hepatitis C infections, a team of researchers has identified viable vaccine targets for a disease that infects 70 million worldwide with case numbers increasing every year.”

Over 30 years, big fall in HIV among people who inject drugs in Baltimore, but hepatitis C remains high
“Despite less injecting drug use, increased use of harm reduction services, and significant progress in reducing HIV infections, there has been a resurgence of hepatitis C among people who inject drugs in recent years in Baltimore, especially among people under the age of 40. This research, tracking changes over the past three decades, was presented by Eshan Patel to the recent Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2024) in Denver.”

State sues El Dorado county over needle exchange bans
“PLACERVILLE, Calif. – As part of an ongoing dispute between some county officials and the Sierra Harm Reduction Coalition, a nonprofit that distributes clean needles, Narcan and offers other services, Placerville’s City Council and the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors both recently passed bans on the operation of needle exchange programs. Following on the heels of the latter of the two bans, passed by City Council in late February, the California Department of Public Health filed a lawsuit against the two governing bodies and their elected officials.”

‘Time for Five’ coalition launches global petition targeting medical test maker Cepheid and parent corporation Danaher
“Washington, DC, 22 March 2024 — Ahead of World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) protested alongside other global health activists outside the headquarters of US corporation Danaher, which owns diagnostics maker Cepheid, demanding they drop the price to US$5 for all their ‘GeneXpert’ medical tests that they sell in low- and middle-income countries, for diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), HIV, hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and Ebola. Testing is the first step to getting someone who is sick on the treatment they need and preventing further spread of infectious diseases.”

US centers get $2.1M to help hepatitis patients find doctors
“The Center for Disease Analysis (CDA) Foundation has granted $2.1 million in funding to 14 U.S. organizations to help diagnosed but untreated hepatitis B and C patients find doctors. The funds come from the foundation’s Relink grant program, which is supported by an $8-million grant from Gilead Sciences. Gilead markets several hepatitis therapies. The CDA Foundation plans to distribute three more rounds of Relink grants by 2025.”