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Friday, October-14-16
News in Brief
New Hepatitis C Pamphlets for Special Populations Released October 13, 2016
HepCBC has been working for some time on updating our pamphlet urging baby boomers (born 1945 – 1975) to get tested. Today we released not one but two versions of this updated pamphlet, both of which are FREE. For copies, send email to info@hepcbc.bchep.org with your organization’s name, mailing address, and number of copies desired. Free postage within Canada.
Our RED pamphlet is aimed at an URBAN baby-boomer population, and covers in particular a few risk factors specifically related to immigrants to Canada such as the use of shared needled during mass vaccinations, later screening of blood products, and even some traditional medical practices such as acupuncture or phlebotomy which can transmit HCV if needles or blades are not properly sterilized. The photos suggest that hepatitis C can strike people from any region or cultural group, but there is a positive message that hep C is CURABLE.
Our BLUE pamphlet is aimed at a RURAL or remote baby-boomer population, particularly those in northern and aboriginal communities, though we anticipate it will be used with urban aboriginal populations as well. It includes some rural-specific risk factors such as the information that in the past, women in remote communities were often given “top-up” transfusions following childbirth. It also includes information that shared vaccination needles were often used in residential schools (note: as recalled by former students), insurance info about Non-Insured Health Benefits for eligible First Nations and Inuit, and the good news that hepatitis C-related liver disease is potentially reversible – but only if found and treated in time! The photos are of both First Nations and white elders, plus photos of volunteer firemen and healthcare professionals from First Nations communities in NW BC.
Canadians Infected by Hepatitis C Have Limited Access to Direct-Acting Antivirals
October 14, 2016
A pill a day for 12 weeks. The new direct-acting antivirals (DAA) are effective in curing the hepatitis C virus infection, a potentially fatal disease that attacks the liver. But they are expensive—approximately $60,000 per patient. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM), The Kirby Institute at UNSW Australia, and the Canadian Network on Hepatitis C (CanHepC) shows that nearly everywhere in Canada, provinces and territories impose obstacles to the reimbursement of these medications by the public system because of their cost.
U.S.: Prisoners With Hep C Get Cured In Some States But Not Others
October 13, 2016
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has guidelines for treating prisoners that include providing the new drugs. But the vast majority of U.S. prisoners are held in state facilities; about 1.4 million people are in state prisons, compared with about 191,000 in federal prisons. In their study, researchers from Yale and the Association of State Correctional Administrators sent two surveys to every state prison system. They first looked at care across states — who was getting treatment, and what kind — and the second focused on how much corrections departments were paying for the new drugs, specifically Sovaldi, which was approved for use in 2013, and Harvoni, which hit the market in 2014 (there have since been several others). They found that less than 1 percent of state inmates with hepatitis C1 had received these medications in prison as of Jan. 15, 2015.
Public Health Agency of Canada Cutting Funding to Canadian AIDS Service Organizations
October 12, 2016
HIV and Hepatitis C Community Action Fund will leave many Canadians living with HIV or Hep C out in the cold, with several established service organizations having their funding partially or completely cut. Just two weeks after the federal government pledged $804 million to international efforts on AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis at the Global Fund Replenishment Conference, HIV organizations have had their federal funding drastically cut or completely discontinued across Canada. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) sent out responses from the HIV and Hepatitis C Community Action Fund (CAF) Letter of Intent Process starting on Sept 29, 2016, several months later than originally promised, and the results have been catastrophic for the sector.
Hospitalizations in Immigrants and Nonimmigrants Diagnosed With Chronic Hepatitis C Infection in Québec
October 12, 2016
Rates of hospitalization due to chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) are increasing in Canada and the United States. A large proportion of immigrants originate from countries with intermediate to high HCV prevalence but are not screened for HCV post-arrival and may therefore have increased risks of liver-related complications and hospitalization.
Reducing the duration of hepatitis C therapy may be effective
October 11, 2016
Patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) without cirrhosis have a high rate of sustained viral response at 12 weeks with use of 3-week triple direct-acting antiviral therapy, according to a study published in the Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology. Researchers examined the antiviral efficacy and safety of 3 weeks of response-guided therapy with an NS3 protease inhibitor and dual NS5A inhibitor–NS5B nucleotide analogue in the open-label, phase 2a study.
Pakistan: Pharma firms’ plea against cut in Hepatitis C drug price dismissed
October 9, 2016
By Jamal Khurshid Petitions filed by pharmaceutical companies challenging the government’s decision to fix the price of Hepatitis – C drug (Sofosbuvir) at Rs5,868, were dismissed by the Sindh High Court (SHC), this past week. The court observed that the maximum retail price of the drug was legal since the appropriate procedure of price determination of the said compound was complied with, as was done in neighbouring countries. The court observed that access to affordable drug being part of right to life was an obligation undertaken by the state under the constitution of the state as well as pursuant to many international covenants.
Study of liver pathogen in horses could help rein in hepatitis C in humans
October 8, 2016
Research into how horses manage to naturally eliminate a liver virus related to the hepatitis C virus from their system has the potential ultimately benefit humans, according to researchers. Equine hepacivirus (EHCV) is the closest known relative to hepatitis C virus.