Hepatitis C and people who inject drugs: What’s happening around Australia?
In Australia around 190,000 to 200,000 people live with hepatitis C, a disease that causes around 800 deaths across the country every year. New direct-acting antiviral treatments can cure around 95 per cent of hepatitis C cases - all people have to do is take a few tablets which have minimal side effects.
However, just because new treatments exist doesn’t mean that people who are living with hepatitis C are accessing these treatments. In fact, the uptake of these ground-breaking treatments has slowed in Australia and the high incidence of this virus amongst people who inject drugs makes hepatitis C a major public health challenge.
To address these issues and eliminate hepatitis C, states and territories around Australia are acting decisively. As you may recall, in the February 2018 edition of the Anex Bulletin we provided a snapshot of programs in place around Australia that are making a difference in tackling hepatitis C rates for people who inject drugs.
Some people who inject drugs have minimal contact with the health care system and experience feelings of marginalisation. They may not even be aware that new hepatitis C treatments are available and that they are more effective (and with fewer side effects) than old versions. These are all major obstacles to encouraging more people with hepatitis C to undergo testing and treatment.
Now it’s time for part two, which takes us to Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory. The ACT is making strong headway in encouraging people to access hepatitis C treatment. In 2016, it had the highest proportion of treatment uptake rates in Australia with 30 per cent of people living with hepatitis C starting directacting antiviral therapy during the period March 2016 to June 2017.
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