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Friday, June 30, 2017
News Recap
Well if you blinked you didn’t miss it because there was no Weekly Bull last week. Just felt that it was best not to bother you all for not much. But now we have quite a few items to share.
Important Warning: Please please be aware of computer safety. There are all kinds of viruses out there that will destroy your computer and trash your files and work. If it happened to banks and even Merck it can happen to you. Take time to update your operating system and antivirus programs.
Study Examines Palliative Care Trends in Patients with End-Stage Liver Disease
A new study has uncovered low rates of referral for palliative care in US patients with end-stage liver disease, although rates have been slowly increasing over time. The Hepatology study also found that certain socioeconomic and ethnic barriers may hinder access to palliative care services. I wonder if there is a similar study for Canada?
Patients of Hamilton doctor may have been exposed to HIV and hepatitis
This is scary! Have you had a similar procedure done? Hamilton Public Health is advising patients of a Hamilton doctor to get tested for infectious diseases. Officials say anyone who received in-office surgical procedures including the removal of skin tags, warts, moles and cysts or biopsies of skin cancers at Dr. Lorin Harding’s clinic in Hamilton may have been exposed to improperly cleaned instruments.
1,000 Covenant Health patients potentially exposed to hepatitis B and C
More than 1,300 Covenant Health patients being treated for diabetes may have been exposed to hepatitis B and C during insulin training sessions, the organization revealed on Wednesday. Possible exposure was during insulin training sessions in Edmonton between 2013 and 2016.
Hep C Experts Condemn Cochrane Review Dissing Direct Antivirals
Earlier this month, a pooled analysis by the prestigious Cochrane Collaboration questioned whether sofosbuvir and other direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) can actually save lives in the long run – a finding that could deal a massive blow to hepatitis C patients and drug companies alike. The problem is that it’s simply not true, according to a chorus of experts who have called the Cochrane review “outdated,” “fundamentally flawed,” and “absurd.”
Injection drug users at four times higher risk of Hep C than HIV: UNODC
There are about 12 million people in the world who inject drugs, of which 6.1 million have contracted Hep C while 1.6 million suffer from AIDS and 1.3 million users suffer from both diseases. Three times more people who use drugs die from Hepatitis C (222,000) than from HIV (60,000), a new United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report found. Injection drug users (IDUs) are also at four times higher risk of contracting Hepatitis C than AIDS.
Swiss hepatitis C sufferers to get full access to expensive drug
The Federal Office of Public Health has announced that it will make the hepatitis C drug Zepatier available to all patients from July 1. The 12-week treatment costs CHF31,000 ($31,952) per patient and was previously only available to those with an advanced form of the disease.
CHMP Backs Two Pan-Genotypic Antivirals for Hep C
The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended approval of two new drugs, Maviret and Vosevi, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in adults. Maviret (AbbVie Ltd), administered once daily as three oral tablets, contains the NS3/4A protease inhibitor glecaprevir (100 mg) and the NS5A inhibitor pibrentasvir (40 mg). Vosevi (Gilead Sciences) is a once-daily single tablet that contains the nucleotide analogue nonstructural protein NS5B polymerase inhibitor sofosbuvir (400 mg), the HCV NS5A inhibitor velpatasvir (100 mg), and the novel pan-genotypic HCV NS3/4A protease inhibitor voxilaprevir (100 mg).
New Zealand: Govt asked to greenlight prison Hep-C testing
The government of New Zealand is being asked to agree to a medical trial to find out how many prisoners have been exposed to Hepatitis C. An estimated 50,000 people in New Zealand have the disease, which is transmitted mainly through intravenous needles or badly sterilised medical equipment. Hepatitis C targets the liver, and can be fatal. Little is known about its prevalence in the prison population, but figures from other countries such as the USA and Ireland suggest it could affect 40 to 50 percent of inmates.
Burlington dental patients told to get tested for hepatitis and HIV
The Halton Regional Health Department in Ontario, Canada says 9,000 past and current patients of a Burlington dental clinic should get tested for infectious diseases. On June 9 the department identified that clients who received dental services at Upper Middle Dental operated by Dr. Vick Handa may have been exposed to improperly cleaned instruments used for procedures.
Gilead Receives Approval in Canada for VEMLIDY™ (Tenofovir Alafenamide) for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection
On June 19, 2017 Gilead Canada announced that Health Canada has granted a Notice of Compliance (NOC) for VEMLIDY™ (tenofovir alafenamide, TAF) 25mg tablets, a once-daily treatment for adults with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection with compensated liver disease. – VEMLIDY is a Once-Daily Treatment that Demonstrated Similar Efficacy with Improved Renal and Bone Laboratory Safety Parameters Compared to VIREAD.®