Hepatitis C News

While hepatitis C screening improved recently, the increased rates are minimal and less than optimal among black individuals, Hispanics and women, according to a recently published study.

The overall death rate from many infectious diseases decreased by nearly 20% in the United States over 35 years, according to researchers.

Gov . Andrew M. Cuomo announced the first U.S. state-level hepatitis C elimination strategy to end HCV in New York, according to a press release.

Researchers have developed a predictive score that quantifies the potential benefits of direct-acting antiviral therapy for patients with hepatitis C and decompensated cirrhosis, according to recently published data.

A program granting prison inmates with hepatitis C virus infection unrestricted access to direct-acting antiviral therapy nearly eliminated the virus at a correctional facility in Australia less than 2 years after its implementation, according to study findings published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Hepatitis C treatment with Mavyret for 8 weeks had an overall sustained virologic response rate of 98% regardless of baseline patient or viral characteristics in a cohort of patients with genotypes 1 through 6, according to a recently published study.

As a population, people who inject drugs have the highest prevalence and incidence of hepatitis C infection. Despite this, people who inject drugs have historically had difficulty accessing treatment, either due to socioeconomic and stigma-related barriers or due to treatment restrictions for people with ongoing drug and/or alcohol use.

The trouble in engaging difficult to reach populations is, well, that they are difficult to reach.

To address the underlying opioid addiction that so often leads to injection-related infections, experts have suggested that directly treating the addiction should be a priority for ID specialists. We asked Peter Chin-Hong, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine and Infectious Disease News Editorial Board member, if he agrees that ID specialists should treat opioid use disorder with medicine.

The opioid epidemic in the United States has affected millions, exposing them to health risks that include a range of infectious diseases.