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NOTE: In Alberta, coverage has been expanded as of April 1 to include all patients with hepatitis C. Previously, coverage was provided only to patients at an advanced stage of the disease or those with complications.
A long-term effort to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health threat is underway in Alberta, where a new program aims to provide medications to one particularly vulnerable group of patients.
Dr. Stephen Shafran, an infectious disease expert at the University of Alberta, said his new initiative is reaching out to Albertans with hepatitis C who also have HIV infections.
Such patients are a priority since the presence of HIV has been shown to accelerate the progression of the other disease, increasing the chances of severe liver damage, Shafran said.
As well, he said some patients from the group are known to engage in risky behaviour, including the sharing of needles and other drug paraphernalia, the easiest way for hepatitis C to spread.
“So if we eliminate their Hep C, they can’t transmit it,” he said.
Shafran said the Northern Alberta HIV Program has a roster of 2,300 patients, about 20 per cent of whom have also been diagnosed with hepatitis C.