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Breakthrough cheap hepatitis cures are now available to Australians, but many don’t even know they have the deadly disease.
Some who do know are unaware of the four different medicines, subsidised by the federal government from March 1, which can cure without the terrible side-effects of previous therapies.
“The drugs themselves are fantastic but they are just a tool,” Hepatitis Australia CEO Helen Tyrrell told AAP.
“We have got to find the people who will benefit from it, that work is critical to whether we actually reap the benefits of these new treatments … to achieve elimination of hep C as a public health issue in this country.”
Listing the drugs on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) drops the price from around $100,000 to just $6.20 for concessional patients and $37.70 for general patients.