Researchers launch large-scale trials as early data show promise

ByAnne Gulland, GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY CORRESPONDENT

​Two cheap and widely available hepatitis C drugs have cut death rates among patients hospitalised with coronavirus, the results of three small studies have shown.
 
The drugs - sofosbuvir and daclatasvir - were given to three groups of patients hospitalised with the virus in Iran. After 14 days of treatment 94 per cent of patients taking the drug combination were showing signs of recovery versus 70 per cent receiving standard care.
 
The death rate for the combination of drugs was five per cent, compared to 20 per cent for people on standard care.
 
“We saw significantly faster rates of clinical recovery and hospital discharge for people taking the drug combination and we also saw faster rates of survival,” said Dr Andrew Hill, senior visiting research fellow at Liverpool University and one of the researchers. 
 
The treatment works by binding to one of proteins of the virus, interfering with its ability to replicate. Laboratory studies showed that daclatasvir was the most effective of the two as it penetrates into the lungs where Covid-19 infection is often concentrated. 
 
One of these small trials was not randomised so the researchers, who presented their results at the International Aids Society Covid-19 scientific conference this week, stress that the results should be seen as preliminary.
 
“It’s early data so we do not want to get carried away,” Dr Hill added. 
 
Five randomised control trials to test the combination as both a treatment and a prophylactic have now been set up in Iran, Brazil, Egypt and South Africa and researchers hope to recruit 2,000 patients and health workers. 
 
They hope to see data by October and if the combination proves successful it could be approved for worldwide use.

TO CONTINUE READING: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/cheap-widely-available-hep-c-drug-shown-reduce-death-rate-covid/
 

Ronald O. Valdiserri, Alexander Billioux, Boatemaa Ntiri-Reid, Lauren Canary
June 26, 2020 HEALTH AFFAIRS BLOG      10.1377/hblog20200624.8487510.1377/hblog20200624.84875

As our nation continues to confront the burgeoning pandemic of COVID-19, much has been written about the importance of building and sustaining a strong public health infrastructure to contain the epidemic, minimize its impact, and prepare for future waves of SARS-CoV-2 and other deadly pathogens. For those not working on the front lines, perhaps less obvious has been the pandemic’s effect on other health department programs and services. In the setting of already understaffed and underfunded state and local health departments, the deployment of personnel from their regular duties to work on COVID-19 response has resulted in other key services being reduced or suspended.
Impact Of COVID-19 Response On Other Necessary Public Health ServicesIn a a recent survey of health department sexually transmitted disease (STD) programs, more than half reported negative impacts of the COVID-19 response on the provision of recommended screening, diagnostic, and treatment services. Decreases in the availability of syringe service programs and limitations in access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV have also been reported as a consequence of shifting resources and changing priorities in response to COVID-19. Not surprisingly, viral hepatitis prevention and control programs have also experienced this strain.
In May 2020, the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) conducted a request for information (RFI), asking the viral hepatitis and HIV prevention and care staff of health departments to provide specific details about the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on public health capacity. The organization found that over 80% of hepatitis program, 75% of HIV prevention program, and 57% of Ryan White HIV/AIDS program staff at health departments reported being detailed to the COVID 19 response. In light of current circumstances, over 90% of the hepatitis programs responding to the RFI indicated that they anticipate reductions in viral hepatitis outreach, education, testing, and linkage to care services.
Effect On Viral Hepatitis Elimination EffortsWhile no public health leader questions the need to respond to SARS-CoV-2 with deliberate speed and appropriate action, the COVID-19 pandemic has emerged at a particularly critical time in America’s effort to eliminate hepatitis C in the United States. Consider the situation in Louisiana. In June 2019, the state announced the creation of an innovative payment model for hepatitis C treatment that would enable it to provide curative therapy for two vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by hepatitis C: persons on Medicaid and those receiving care through the state corrections system. Prior to the program’s launch, approximately 61 persons per month were started on curative treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in state Medicaid and Department of Corrections programs. After a successful implementation, this figure increased dramatically to some 478 persons per month being treated.  However, due to disruptions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of new treatment starts dropped to 155 persons in Spring 2020 (mid-March to mid-April). And given constraints in state budgets anticipated in the face of COVID-19 response, other jurisdictions may be slowed or even halted in their efforts to launch viral hepatitis elimination programs.
TO CONTINUE READING: https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20200624.84875/full/

Maggie L. Shaw
Newsroom – Published on: June 18, 2020 AJMC

Despite the CDC’s recommendation, which has been in effect since 1998, study results show that just half of HIV-positive individuals choose to get tested for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the 12 months following the receipt of their diagnosis.

Just half of individuals with HIV were ever tested for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the year after receiving their HIV diagnosis, despite being at increased risk for the liver disease, report recent study results that appeared in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. Living in a rural area, too, meant this patient group was the least likely to get tested.

“Because HIV infection can accelerate the natural history of HCV infection leading to increased risk for cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatitis C–related mortality, all individuals living with HIV should be tested for hepatitis C and linked to care where appropriate,” the study authors noted.

TO CONTINUE READING: ​https://www.ajmc.com/newsroom/having-a-high-risk-of-hcv-does-not-always-lead-to-testing-among-those-with-hiv

Contact: Marissa Tonelli
202.507.4731/ Marissa@HealthHCV.org
May 29, 2020

The Third Annual HealthHCV State of HCV Care National SurveyTM Identifies Workforce Dynamics Impacting HCV Treatment Outcomes

Dynamics Impacting HCV Treatment Outcomes
Washington, DC – Over one-third of current HCV treatment providers are reaching retirement age at the same time they are experiencing HCV caseload increases and planning to scale up treatment, according to the Third Annual HealthHCV State of HCV Care National SurveyTM report. The growing gap of HCV treaters is concerning as survey findings indicate a lack of onsite trained providers across practice settings as well as in key service areas and over half of HCV providers have been practicing for fewer than five years. In community-based settings across the country, primary care providers are at the forefront of the effort to expand HCV treatment access. HCV patients are three-times more likely to be treated by a primary care provider than a specialist, reflecting a key evolution in the HCV care and treatment landscape

As National Hepatitis Awareness Month continues through May, HealthHCV released a comprehensive report of the Third Annual HealthHCV State of HCV Care National SurveyTM findings, which includes first-of-its-kind data on the state HCV care in HIV and primary care settings. The report highlights specific education, training, and financial resources that providers need in order to scale-up HCV services, remain responsive to national guidelines and recommendations, and meet the needs of a growing and diversifying HCV patient population. HealthHCV also launched its HCV Services and COVID-19 Provider Survey during Hepatitis Awareness Month, which will be fielded through June 15, 2020.
Key findings from the 407 providers surveyed in the HealthHCV State of HCV Care National SurveyTM demonstrate notable gaps in the HCV prevention and treatment workforce, including:
HCV Screening Practices

• Only one quarter (27%) of providers are implementing universal HCV screening in accordance with the newest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Preventive Services Taskforce (USPSTF) guidelines; the majority (73%) screen based on identified risk factors. 
• Nearly half of providers (43%) requested education/training on the current HCV screening guidelines.
• One third (34%) of providers refer HCV patients offsite for RNA confirmatory testing.
• A majority of providers (44%) report their patients are likely to be lost during linkage to care rather than during other points along the HCV care continuum.

HCV Treatment Practices

• Patients being treated onsite (versus referrals) are three-times more likely to be treated by a primary care provider than a specialist.
• About one quarter (24%) of providers report seeing re-infection among patients; primarily among people who inject drugs (PWID).
• The most significant provider-reported barriers to providing HCV screening, care and treatment services are: limited infrastructure for providing services, lack of trained providers onsite or in their service area, administrative costs, provider stigma, and treatment utilization policies impacting coverage by insurance.
• Over one-third (40%) reported being unable to treat a patient’s infection due to payer restrictions.

HCV Workforce

• Over one third of HCV providers (34%) are reaching retirement age at the same time that nearly half of providers (43%) are experiencing HCV caseload increases.
• Over half of HCV providers (51%) have been practicing for fewer than five years. 
• Most providers (64%) are partnering with community-based organizations that specialize in risk reduction and harm reduction services for PWID (e.g. needle/syringe exchange, methadone clinics) in response to growing patient population with co-occurring substance use disorder or opioid use disorder.

Education & Training Needs

• Providers requested additional education and training on addressing re-infection among HCV patients, monitoring HCV patients not on treatment, appropriate treatment for HCV/HIV co-infected patients, determining when to initiate treatment for HCV, and discussing sexual health, liver health, and substance use with HCV patients.

“Since we have the ability to cure HCV through simplified, quality treatment, it is imperative that limited workforce capacity and insurance coverage are not barriers to HCV testing and treatment,” said HealthHCV Director Marissa Tonelli. “HealthHCV is addressing the workforce training and development needs in primary care settings to ensure more people with HCV have access to screening and curative therapy.”
The HealthHCV State of HCV Care National Survey™ is fielded online annually via SurveyMonkey™. It is distributed through HealthHCV and its partner, Medscape Education, to hundreds of providers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and major U.S. territories.

The Third Annual HealthHCV State of HCV Care National Survey™ report documents the key survey findings and their implications on the HCV provider workforce. View the report at www.HealthHCV.org and access existing HCV resources are available for consumers, providers and advocates on HealthHCV’s online resource center.
For More Information:

​To learn more about the survey, report, or HealthHCV education and training opportunities, please contact:
Marissa Tonelli
Director of HealthHCV
Office:  202.507.4731 
Email: marissa@HealthHCV.org

PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE

LOUISA, Ky. -- As the coronavirus pandemic continues to strain the state's health care system, providers are concerned about another viral infectious disease spreading under the radar.

The hepatitis C virus damages the liver and can lead to liver cancer and death. It's transmitted through the blood, which is why it's prevalent among people who are intravenous drug users. Kentucky currently leads the nation in the number of hepatitis C infections, and ranks number two in the country for the number of infants exposed to the virus at birth.

Lynn Hill is a nurse practitioner in Lawerence County. She said COVID-19 is scaring patients away from getting treatment, so her hospital has adapted.

"So we adjusted things, we did telehealth; we were able to have the medication shipped to the patient's home," Hill said. "At our hospital, you can have bloodwork done from your car, so the patient doesn't have to go in and be worried about exposure."

Hill added that medications treating hepatitis C are effective and in most cases can rid the body of the virus within a few months. According to the latest data, it's estimated there are at least 42,000 Kentuckians living with hepatitis C.

TO CONTINUE STORY:
​https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2020-05-18/health-issues/providers-worry-hepatitis-c-infections-may-worsen-amid-pandemic/a70213-1

​Alexander Lekhtman 2Days

The adulteration of many drug supplies with the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl poses a serious risk for people who use illicit drugs of all kinds. But those who use substances other than opioids are more likely to be unaware of the risk or how to mitigate it. Public health officials in New York City issued safety information to cocaine users through bars and nightclubs—and a review of their strategy indicates that it was effective.
Many people might be aware of fentanyl’s presence in heroin supplies. Unfortunately, there is much less awareness of how it is also found in stimulants like cocaine or methamphetamine. Since 2016, there has been a faster national increase in fentanyl-and-cocaine-related deaths than in fentanyl-and-heroin deaths.
In New York City, nearly four in 10 deaths related to cocaine also involve fentanyl. People who use only cocaine have not developed tolerance to opioids, and may not know about vital resources like fentanyl testing strips or naloxone. Knowledge, in this case, really can save lives.
In spring 2018, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) contacted 47 bars, nightclubs and music venues in downtown Manhattan about participating in a public information campaign. The venues were not known sites of fentanyl-involved overdoses, just places where people regularly consumed alcohol and likely, cocaine. Twenty-three venues agreed to participate.
The health officials gave the nightlife venues posters and drink coasters displaying information about how to avoid fentanyl overdose. “Using cocaine tonight?” the posters read. “Fentanyl, a drug stronger than heroin, is being mixed into cocaine and is causing a spike in overdose deaths. You can’t see, taste, or smell fentanyl.”
The posters also offered simple safety tips: “Use with others. If you overdose, it’s important to have someone else around to help. Have [naloxone] on hand and tell others how to use it. It could save your life.”

TO CONTINUE: https://filtermag-org.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/filtermag.org/bars-nightclubs-deaths-fentanyl/amp/

​As overdose deaths climb, advocates and activists fear the opioid crisis will run headlong into the Covid-19 crisis.
​By Sophie Pinkham

​In mid-March, as the Covid-19 pandemic was accelerating, Shantae Owens found a man unconscious in a public bathroom in Tompkins Square Park, in New York’s East Village. Owens wasn’t surprised at his discovery. He was on street outreach distributing naloxone, which helps reverse opioid overdoses, as well as syringes, condoms, and other health supplies. He administered naloxone and called 911. The ambulance took longer to arrive than usual.
Owens is an outreach worker with the Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center, which has temporarily stopped doing outreach due to Covid-19-related safety concerns. But he still covers the parks, public restrooms, and drug houses of the South Bronx, Washington Heights, and Lower Manhattan as a volunteer with VOCAL-NY, a grassroots organization that grew out of the AIDS epidemic and is staying open during the lockdown. Many harm reduction programs are still running as essential services, though others, such as those that operate out of county health departments, like Michigan’s, are now largely closed because of Covid-19. Owens is concerned about what the lockdown will mean for drug users—in particular, for people who use opioids and are at high risk of fatal overdose. “We fear that overdose is going to rise,” Owens told me, “because there’s not enough services. We’ve already lost so many people to the overdose crisis.”
Around the country, organizations that work to reduce drug-related harms such as overdose, HIV, and hepatitis C are now facing yet another devastating virus. And for active drug users, people in drug treatment, and people without stable housing, business closures and physical distancing mandates are causing a cascade of economic and practical difficulties that compound health dangers. “I worry for my community,” said Kelly Culbert, who works at NYHRE, an East Harlem harm reduction center that has closed temporarily. “They’re scared. They have very little access to equipment [for safer drug use]. And everything has become more problematic—from the ways people were making their money to locating a dealer and that person having an adequate supply. It’s all become riskier, less available.”

Among the harms that advocates like Culbert fear most are a spike in overdoses, increased syringe sharing, and a choice between self-isolation and excruciating drug withdrawal. There are already reports from across the country of increased overdose rates.
Project SAFE works with women and queer people who use drugs in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood, delivering harm reduction supplies and offering a place to take a shower or a nap. Many program participants are precariously housed and stay up all night to avoid being assaulted; they need a place to help them escape the cycle of exhaustion.

TO CONTINUE READING:​https://www.thenation.com/article/society/harm-reduction-coronavirus/

Matthew J. Akiyama, M.D., Anne C. Spaulding, M.D., and Josiah D. Rich, M.D.T
​The New England Journal of Medicine
​

Matthew Akiyama is the Medical Advisor to HCMSG

​Because of policies of mass incarceration over the past four decades, the United States has incarcerated more people than any other country on Earth. As of the end of 2016, there were nearly 2.2 million people in U.S. prisons and jails.1 People entering jails are among the most vulnerable in our society, and during incarceration, that vulnerability is exacerbated by restricted movement, confined spaces, and limited medical care. People caught up in the U.S. justice system have already been affected by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and improved preparation is essential to minimizing the impact of this pandemic on incarcerated persons, correctional staff, and surrounding communities.
Populations involved with the criminal justice system have an increased prevalence of infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections and tuberculosis. Disparities in social determinants of health affecting groups that are disproportionately likely to be incarcerated — racial minorities, persons who are unstably housed, persons with substance use disorders or mental illness — lead to greater concentrations of these illnesses in incarcerated populations. Yet implementation of interventions to address these conditions is often challenging in correctional settings owing to resource limitations and policy constraints. Therefore, comprehensive responses that straddle correctional facilities and the community often need to be devised.

 For example, HCV, which is the most prevalent infectious disease in incarcerated populations, is most commonly spread through injection drug use. Transmission can be reduced using measures known to reduce high-risk behaviors, such as opioid agonist therapy and syringe exchange. Although much of the country has yet to implement these strategies in correctional settings, managing transitions in care to and from the community and providing such services to people after incarceration has a large impact. Similarly, we have learned that controlling infections such as HIV and HCV in correctional settings can have positive effects both in these settings and on surrounding communities, as a form of treatment as prevention.
TO CONTINUE READING: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2005687

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN​Updated 5:13 AM ET, Fri April 10, 2020

​(CNN)The annual rate of newly reported hepatitis C infections in the United States has increased threefold, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A new CDC report finds that the annual rate rose from a rate of 0.3 cases per 100,000 people in 2009 to a rate of 1.2 per 100,000 people in 2018. That report also makes new recommendations for all adults to get screened for hepatitis C at least once in their lifetimes.
The new Vital Signs report included data on confirmed acute hepatitis C cases between 2009 and 2018 from the CDC's National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. Hepatitis C is the most commonly reported bloodborne infection in the United States.
The report, published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on Thursday, finds that the highest rate of new hepatitis C cases in 2018 was among younger adults ages 20 to 39.


Among adults ages 20 to 29, rates increased about 300% from 0.7 per 100,000 in 2009 to 3.1 per 100,000 in 2018. Among adults ages 30 to 39, rates increased about 400%, from 0.5 per 100,000 in 2009 to 2.6 per 100,000 in 2018, according to the report.
According to the CDC, hepatitis C previously was seen as a concern primarily for baby boomers and people with risk factors, such as injection drug use, but the new data finds that in 2018:

• Millennials, or those born during 1981 to 1996, accounted for 36.5% of newly reported chronic hepatitis C infections.
• Baby boomers accounted for 36.3% of newly reported chronic infections.
• Generation X, born during 1966 to 1980, accounted for 23.1% of newly reported chronic infections.

 TO CONTINUE READING:https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/10/health/hepatitis-c-infection-rate-rises/index.html

​Recommendations and Reports / April 10, 2020 / 69(2);1–17
Sarah Schillie, MD1; Carolyn Wester, MD1; Melissa Osborne, PhD1; Laura Wesolowski, PhD1; A. Blythe Ryerson, PhD1 

Recommendations
​
The following recommendations for hepatitis C screening augment those issued by CDC in 2012 (5). The recommendations issued by CDC in 1998 remain in effect (6). CDC recommends (Box 1):

• Universal hepatitis C screening (new recommendations):
  • Hepatitis C screening at least once in a lifetime for all adults aged ≥18 years, except in settings where the prevalence of HCV infection (HCV RNA-positivity) is <0.1%
  • Hepatitis C screening for all pregnant women during each pregnancy, except in settings where the prevalence of HCV infection (HCV RNA-positivity) is <0.1%
• One-time hepatitis C testing regardless of age or setting prevalence among persons with recognized conditions or exposures (existing recommendations):
  • Persons with HIV
  • Persons who ever injected drugs and shared needles, syringes, or other drug preparation equipment, including those who injected once or a few times many years ago
  • Persons with selected medical conditions, including persons who ever received maintenance hemodialysis and persons with persistently abnormal ALT levels
  • Prior recipients of transfusions or organ transplants, including persons who received clotting factor concentrates produced before 1987, persons who received a transfusion of blood or blood components before July 1992, persons who received an organ transplant before July 1992, and persons who were notified that they received blood from a donor who later tested positive for HCV infection
  • Health care, emergency medical, and public safety personnel after needle sticks, sharps, or mucosal exposures to HCV-positive blood
  • Children born to mothers with HCV infection
• Routine periodic testing for persons with ongoing risk factors, while risk factors persist:
  • Persons who inject drugs and share needles, syringes, or other drug preparation equipment
  • Persons with selected medical conditions, including persons who ever received maintenance hemodialysis
• Any person who requests hepatitis C testing should receive it, regardless of disclosure of risk, because many persons might be reluctant to disclose stigmatizing risk.  
  
• https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/rr/rr6902a1.htm?s_cid=rr6902a1_w&deliveryName=USCDCNPIN_171-DM25236