Hepatitis C News Update

Status report on prison health in the WHO European Region 2022 “This report provides an overview of the performance of prison health systems in the WHO European Region. It contains 2020 data obtained through a survey collected from 36 countries, where a total of 613 497 people were deprived of their liberty. In most of these countries, responsibility for delivering prison health care was shared between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice/the Interior.” Treating Hepatitis C in Individuals With Previous Incarceration: The Veterans Health Administration, 2012–2019 “To determine whether the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) hepatitis C (HCV) treatment campaign reached marginalized populations, we compared HCV care by previous incarceration status with Veterans Aging Cohort Study data. Of those with and those without previous incarceration, respectively, 40% and 21% had detectable HCV, 59% and 65% underwent treatment (P = .07); 92% and 94% of those who completed treatment achieved sustained virologic response. The VHA HCV treatment effort was successful and other systems should replicate those efforts. (Am J Public Health. 2023;113(2):162–165. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307152)” Performance of Non-invasive Biomarkers of Liver Fibrosis Amongst Hispanics and African Americans “Introduction: Liver biopsy is the gold standard for fibrosis staging. However, it is limited by significant complications. Non-invasive markers of fibrosis have been developed as an alternative to liver biopsy. The performance of these different markers varies with the etiology of liver fibrosis and possibly amongst different ethnicities. We aim to assess the performance of non-invasive markers of liver fibrosis amongst Hispanics and African Americans.” Hepatitis C Virus More Prevalent in Males in Egypt “New research shows men in Egypt, a country with the highest prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the world, are at a higher risk of HCV than females. A team, led by Muhammad Abdel-Gawad, Hepatology, Gastroenterology, and Infectious Diseases Department, Assiut Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, reviewed and evaluated the gender differences in HCV infection rates in Egypt.” Weekly Health Tip “Hepatitis C is a liver infection caused by the hepatitis C virus and disproportionately affects African Americans. Hepatitis C is spread through contact with blood from an infected person. Most people become infected with the hepatitis C virus by sharing needles or other equipment used to prepare and inject drugs. For some people, hepatitis C is a short-term illness, but for more than half of people who become infected with the hepatitis C virus, it becomes a long-term, chronic infection. There is no vaccine for hepatitis C. The best way to prevent hepatitis C is by avoiding behaviors that can spread the disease, especially injecting drugs. Getting tested for hepatitis C is important, because treatments can cure most people with hepatitis C in 8 to 12 weeks. See the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance on Hepatitis C here.” Marijuana Use Not Linked to Worse Outcomes After a Liver Transplant “Liver transplant recipients who use cannabis did not experience more adverse outcomes than nonusers, suggesting marijuana use alone should not be considered a reason for transplant denial, according to study findings published in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences.” Harm reduction aims to reduce spread of infectious diseases “TAHLEQUAH – In September 2022, Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health launched its harm reduction program where they plan to launch several intervention options within the program, with the hope to reduce infectious diseases such as Hepatitis C and HIV that are spread with drug use.” 2023 Hep C Medicaid Access Report Cards Are In “Barriers to hepatitis C treatment are washing away, but states have to improve health care infrastructure to ride this wave all the way.”