West Virginia Collegiate Recovery Network partners with CHESS Health on hepatitis C digital initiative
“The Live(r) Hep C Free program, an initiative of the West Virginia Collegiate Recovery Network (WVCRN) housed within the Marshall University Research Corporation, is partnering with CHESS Health to deploy its digital contingency management platform that uses a series of reinforcements and rewards for meeting treatment goals”
Hearts From Donors Infected with Hepatitis C Are Safe for Transplant, Study Shows
“A new study by Cleveland Clinic researchers confirms that hearts from hepatitis C-positive donors are safe to use for transplants long-term. The study, which followed patients over a four-year period, found no differences in mortality between patients who received healthy and infected hearts. Cardiac events and other adverse outcomes were also similar.”
Hepatitis C and mental health: Using peer support to fight stigma
“Hepatitis C (HCV) is a blood-borne virus that is most commonly acquired by people who inject drugs. If left untreated, HCV can cause cirrhosis of the liver, liver failure and liver cancer. Unfortunately, due to its most common transmission routes (the sharing of unsterile injecting equipment), hepatitis C is also a stigmatised disease. As such, people who use drugs with a HCV diagnosis face multi-layered stigma, often seen as instruments of contagion, rather than those deserving of care.”
Older age, not comorbidity, linked to worse survival in hepatocellular carcinoma
“Receipt of curative treatment was associated with high comorbidity but not older age. Older age was associated with worse survival in early-stage disease and among treated patients.”
Lawmakers Set To Unveil Subscription Model For Hep C Treatment That Saves $6 Billion
“A bipartisan Senate duo will soon unveil a bill to create a national subscription-type model for hepatitis C treatment that would save over $6 billion. While the lawmakers had hoped it would be folded into a lame-duck package, the bill will likely be used as a payfor in the next Congress. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) told Inside Health Policy Thursday (Dec. 12) the details of the bill are “pretty much wrapped up now” and the bill saves over…”
Immunodeficiency, Injection Drug Use Linked to Failed HCV Treatment in People with HIV
“Key Takeaways – Direct-acting antivirals achieve a 95% success rate in treating HCV among HIV patients, but 5% experience unsuccessful treatment. Lower CD4+ cell counts, HCV genotype 4, and recent injection drug use are linked to higher odds of unsuccessful treatment.”
Though some are finding resilience after hepatitis C cure, others still put testing off
“LEWISTON — Looking back, Rosie Boyce does not recall experiencing many symptoms from her hepatitis C infections. With her body clearing it once on its own in 2009, she was surprised to learn she had become infected again years later when she was tested in 2015.”
Hepatitis C in Australia has more than halved in less than a decade, says report
“In 2023, there were an estimated 68,890 people living with hepatitis C in Australia, down 58% from 162,590 at the end of 2015, according to a new report released by the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney.”
Prison needle exchanges in Canada save an estimated $2 in infection-treatment costs for every $1 spent
“Every dollar spent on Canada’s Prison Needle Exchange Programs (PNEPs) saves an estimated $2 in treatment costs for hepatitis C and injection-related infections, supporting their expansion to all 43 federal prisons, Canadian and Australian researchers report today in CMAJ.”
