Awareness Week: The Launch
T
hank you for inviting me today to launch National Hepatitis Awareness Week in South Australia, as well as launching the first South Australian Hepatitis C Action Plan. On this day, in over 200 cities around the world, people are being encouraged to consider the question ‘Am I number 12?’, acknowledging that, globally, 1 in 12 individuals have either chronic hepatitis B or C. This is a staggering statistic, and we must do more to stop the spread of these diseases through the enhancement of targeted prevention programs which focus on priority population groups. Although hepatitis B is a preventable illness, in South
Australia, between 1996 and 2008, there were 4,422 hepatitis B notifications. The key public health response for the prevention of hepatitis B is the statewide hepatitis B vaccination program. In 2008, SA Health distributed 17,902 doses of hepatitis B vaccine to babies at birth and 25,690 doses to adults. Free access to hepatitis B vaccine is also provided for people who are at most risk of acquiring the infection. Importantly, the SA Hepatitis C Action Plan includes a dedicated strategy to increase access to hepatitis B vaccinations for people who inject drugs. The SA Health Department has also begun developing a strategic response to chronic hepatitis B. In Australia, chronic hepatitis B largely affects people from countries where there are no universal hepatitis B vaccination programs, as well as our indigenous communities, where vaccination programs have not been universally implemented.
For hepatitis C, between 1995 and 2007 inclusive, 15,746 cases of chronic hepatitis C infection were recorded in South Australia. The first South Australian Hepatitis C Action Plan reflects the South Australian government’s commitment to this significant health issue, which affects between 1% and 1.5% of the state population. The South Australian Hepatitis C Action Plan sets priority strategies, activities and performance indicators, and will provide direction for the management of hepatitis C over the next three years. The goal of the Action Plan is: • to reduce transmission and minimise the personal and social impacts of hepatitis C. The Action Plan will achieve this goal through two key priorities. • Expansion of access to effective treatments among the main populations affected by hepatitis C in South Australia; and • expansion of targeted prevention programs. Under the priority to expand treatment access, the Action Plan includes the expansion and coordination of treatment services by increasing the capacity of specialist treatment centres—as well as primary health care and community settings—through increased nursing capacity and GP participation. As part of the Action Plan’s priority to expand targeted prevention programs, the priority target group is people who inject drugs, with a special focus on those people new to injecting, and those who are more marginalised or have special needs. South Australia’s Clean Needle Program has been shown to be highly effective in the prevention of HIV transmission through injecting drug use. In order for the Clean Needle Program in South Australia to be equally effective in the prevention of the much more infectious hepatitis C virus,
Hepatitis C Community News • July 2009