New and Noteworthy
Hep C infections due to unsafe medical procedures falling in low and middle-income countries
The number of Hep C infections in low and middle-income countries acquired due to unsafe medical injections fell by an estimated 91% between 2000 and 2010, reported Canadian researchers in PLOS One.
In 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that in low and middle-income countries, unsafe injections were the cause of 40% of new Hep C transmissions. The Safe Infection Global Network was set up in response to these estimates to try to reduce the number of infections due to unsafe injections.
A significant number of newcomers to Canada who have Hep C contracted it from unsafe medical procedures in another country.
The researchers also estimated large drops in the number of HIV (87%) and Hep B (83%) infections in low and middle-income countries that are attributed to unsafe injections. (aidsmap.com, June 2014, in English)
Hep C care cascade research estimates fewer than 10% in U.S have been treated and cured of Hep C
It is estimated that half of people with hepatitis C in the U.S are aware of their infection, but fewer than 10% have been treated and cured of the virus, reported researchers in PLOS One. Their estimates are based on a systematic review and meta-analysis of articles published between 2003 and 2013.
The concept of a cascade of care was first developed to describe gaps in care for people with HIV. The cascade consists of measuring or estimating the number of people who have completed stages in the cascade from testing to treatment. Applying the model to hepatitis C, the researchers estimated that 3.5 million people in the U.S. have chronic hepatitis C. Of those people, they estimated that:
- 50% have been diagnosed and are aware of their infection
- 43% had access to outpatient care
- 27% received confirmatory Hep C RNA testing
- 17% underwent fibrosis staging
- 16% were prescribed Hep C treatment
- 9% were cured
“The proposed Hep C treatment cascade provides a framework for evaluating the delivery of Hep C care over time and within subgroups, and will be useful in monitoring the impact of new screening efforts and advances in antiviral therapy.” reported the researchers (HIVandhepatitis.com, July 2014, in English)
Three people with both Hep C and HIV spontaneously cleared Hep C while receiving HIV treatment
Three people coinfected with Hep C and HIV spontaneously cleared the Hep C virus while taking HIV treatment, according to an article published in the Journal of Hepatology. The three cases were drawn from a Swedish cohort of HIV and Hep C coinfected participants. All three had the IL28B CC genotype, which is associated with having a positive response to Hep C treatment with interferon. None of the participants had been treated for Hep C.
“We argue that HIV/Hep C coinfected patients probably should commence ART prior to Hep C treatment, in particular if they have the IL28B CC gene, since it might occasionally induce spontaneous Hep C clearance of a chronic Hep C infection,” the researchers concluded.