Global policy and access to new hepatitis C therapies for people who inject drugs

Global policy and access to new hepatitis C therapies for people who inject drugs.

People who inject drugs (PWID) are disproportionately affected by hepatitis C virus (HCV). This review outlines policy recommendations made in the 2014 World Health Organisation (WHO) Guidelines on Screening, Care and Treatment of HCV and their relevance to PWID. It also canvasses issues that will affect translation of these global guidelines into practice. The first global HCV guidelines relea...

to new hepatitis C therapies for people who inject drugs

Hepatitis C virus vaccines among people who inject drugs.

Most people who inject drugs (PWID) are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), and PWID have the highest risk of HCV infection of any risk group. The incidence of HCV infection is 5%-25% per year, demonstrating continued need for HCV infection prevention in PWID. Existing data in chimpanzees and PWID suggest that protective immunity against persistent HCV infection is achievable. Due to the hig...

Global genotype distribution of hepatitis C viral infection among people who inject drugs.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Hepatitis C viral infection (HCV) after injection drug use is very prevalent. The kind of genotype determines the response to treatment. However, no systematic review update on the global genotype distribution of HCV in people who inject drugs (PWID) is currently available. METHODS A systematic review was performed by using the keywords: Genotype, Hepatitis C, Injection drug...

Strategies for achieving universal access to hepatitis C virus prevention and care for people who inject drugs.

Globally, control of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among people who inject drugs (PWID) will require targeted strategies to enhance HCV diagnosis, link individuals into HCV care, increase treatment uptake and enhance viral cure, collectively termed the ‘‘HCV cascade of care’’. A major challenge will be to develop and implement programs appropriate for different settings, including lowand mi...