3 Hepatitis C Articles from the CDC

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UNITED STATES: " A New Wave of Hepatitis C "

Boston Globe (05.16.11):: Chelsea Conaboy

On May 12, the US Department of Health and Human Services launched an action

plan to prevent and treat viral hepatitis, calling it “a silent epidemic.” Some

3.5 million to 5.3 million Americans have viral hepatitis of some form,

including up to 3.9 million with hepatitis C, and two-thirds of those infected

are not aware of it, according to HHS.

“These infections have fueled a tragic cascade of human suffering,” said

K. Koh, MD, MPH, assistant secretary for health for HHS. “The new HHS action

plan on viral hepatitis represents an unprecedented call to action for better

education, treatment, and prevention.”

The Viral Hepatitis Action Plan seeks to boost the proportion of persons who are

aware of their infection from 33 percent to 66 percent for hepatitis B virus and

from 45 percent to 66 percent for hepatitis C virus. It also looks to reduce new

HCV infections by 25 percent by 2020 and to eliminate mother-to-child HBV

transmission.

Overall goals include raising awareness about viral hepatitis; expanding

training to help health professionals diagnose, treat, and vaccinate people

against viral hepatitis; and working within the health reform law to improve

coverage of comprehensive prevention and treatment services.

Diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C should be standard in drug treatment

programs and correctional facilities, the plan says. It also recognizes the need

for access to sterile syringe access programs and community health resources to

help reduce stigma for patients infected by injection drug use.

“No one government agency can fight viral hepatitis alone, and here at CDC, we

believe this action plan will not only strengthen the work we’ve been doing, but

help all of us across the government collaborate to take our nation’s prevention

efforts to the next level,” said CDC Director R. Frieden, MD, MPH.

For more information about the plan, visit:

http://www.hhs.gov/ash/initiatives/hepatitis/actionplan_viralhepatitis2011.pdf.

MASSACHUSETTS: " Hepatitis C Epidemic Among Young People Comes as Surprise "

Standard-Times (New Bedford) (05.07.11):: Anika

Amid an overall decline in new hepatitis C virus infections in Massachusetts

during 2002-06, an increase in cases was seen among those ages 15-24, health

officials recently reported. HCV cases overall fell from 181 per 100,000

population to 128 during that period; however, confirmed and probable HCV

infections among persons ages 15-24 rose from 65 per 100,000 to 102. In 2009,

the figure jumped again, to 113 HCV reports per 100,000 residents ages 15-24.

“I feel like I’m watching this epidemic unfold, and we aren’t really doing a lot

in terms of prevention,” said Dr. Alfred De Jr., state epidemiologist with

the Department of Public Health. “Many of the things that might work are

difficult to do in this population,” he said. “The increase of [HCV] in younger

people is dramatic and had not been projected.”

The uptick was found in rural, urban and suburban areas statewide, according to

an analysis by De and colleagues. Of case reports documented by medical

professionals, there was a higher frequency among white males and females with a

history of IV drug use.

“The current hypothesis that we’re testing ... is that many of these cases are

in people who start with prescription drugs like OxyContin, oxycodone and then

progress to injecting either those drugs or heroin, and using injection drug

equipment that they share with other people,” De said. “These [younger]

individuals are coming along with their peer group, not with experienced

injectors” who might know sterile injection techniques, he said.

There is a point at which heroin becomes a cheaper option than prescription

drugs, said Ann Foose, director of nurses at High Point Treatment Center,

which has facilities in New Bedford, Plymouth, and Brockton. The majority of the

center’s teen heroin patients “started with prescription drugs,” she said.

The report, “Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among Adolescents and Young Adults -

Massachusetts, 2002-2009,” was published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly

Report (2011;60(17):537-541).

COLORADO: " Hepatitis C Awareness and Testing Campaign Launched "

Colorado Independent (05.17.11):: Scot Kersgaard

Hep C Connection is a new awareness and testing campaign aimed at alerting

Coloradoans about hepatitis C virus, which is especially prevalent among baby

boomers. Those born between 1946 and 1964 account for nearly 70 percent of HCV

cases, and a new national study shows that screening baby boomers for the virus

could help save 48,000 lives.

“Our relatives, friends, neighbors, and co-workers need to hear the call,” said

Steinfurth, executive director of the campaign. “Many Colorado baby

boomers are walking around with hepatitis C and don’t know it. They can avoid

devastating, painful and life-threatening liver disease with a simple blood

test. By the time symptoms are noticeable, it’s much tougher to treat.”

HCV is blood-borne. “Some people don’t get tested because they believe that the

only way to have contracted [HCV] is through intravenous drug use, and that’s

just plain false,” said Steinfurth. “The truth is that many Americans, including

many veterans, who had transfusions prior to 1992 were infected with hepatitis C

before donated blood was accurately screened for the disease.”

Hep C Connection links residents with sites across Colorado that offer free and

confidential testing; visit www.hepc-connection.org or telephone 800-522-4372.