AASLD 2017: HCV Infections Are Rising Among HIV+ Gay Men In San Diego

Hepatitis C incidence is increasing among gay and bisexual men living with HIV in San Diego, according to the largest analysis of its kind done in the United States. Study results were presented last week at the 2017 AASLD Liver Meeting in Washington, DC.

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IHRC 2015: Hepatitis C Treatment as Prevention Must Address Concerns of People Who Inject Drugs

While epidemiologists and public health experts are excited about the potential of new hepatitis C drugs to limit onward transmission of the virus among people who inject drugs, some strategies ignore profound barriers to drug users engaging with healthcare and their broader needs. For "treatment as prevention" to be ethical and acceptable to this people who inject drugs, enabling treatment and policy environments need to be created, according to reports at the 24th International Harm Reduction Conference last month in Kuala Lumpur.

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EACS 2017: Test-and-Treat Reduces HCV Among Gay Men in Swiss HIV Cohort

A systematic policy of test-and-treat cured 99% of men who have sex with men with hepatitis C in the Swiss HIV Cohort during an 8-month period and reduced the prevalence of hepatitis C by almost two-thirds, Dominique Braun of the University Hospital, Zurich, reported at the recent 16th European AIDS Conference (EACS 2017) in Milan.

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IHRC 2015: Community-based Drug Projects Provide an Alternative to Compulsory Detention in Asia

A series of pilot projects in China, Indonesia, and Cambodia are showing that non-coercive, community-based drug treatment projects are feasible and more effective than the current approach of many Asian countries, incarceration and compulsory treatment, according to findings presented at the 24th International Harm Reduction Conference last month in Kuala Lumpur and in a report launched at the conference.

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EACS 2017: High Rate of Hepatitis C Reinfection in German Men Who Have Sex With Men

Around 1 in 7 gay and bisexual men cured of hepatitis C at major treatment centers in Germany have become reinfected since 2014, according to findings from the German Hepatitis C Cohort presented at the 16th European AIDS Conference (EACS 2017) in Milan in October. At least half of these men became reinfected within a year of completing treatment and all reinfections occurred within 18 months.

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IHRC 2015: Why Is Injecting Equipment Reused? Drug Users Do Their Own Research to Find Out

Even in the context of the relatively good access to harm reduction services in Australia, the principle reasons for people who inject drugs to reuse syringes relate to the convenience of services, the stigma of drug use, a fear of repercussions, and other contextual factors, according to a recent study. No participants reported sharing equipment as a choice -- if sterile equipment had been readily available at the time they needed it, they would have preferred to use it.

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Does Drug Injection Equipment Other than Syringes Transmit Hepatitis C?

Sharing drug preparation paraphernalia may not significantly contribute to hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission among people who inject drugs, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

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EACS 2015: Hepatitis C Incidence Remains Stable Among HIV-Positive Gay Men in Europe

Researchers have seen no decline in new hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among HIV-positive men who have sex with men in 16 European CASCADE cohorts, according to a poster presented at the 15th European AIDS Conference last week in Barcelona. However, trends seem to differ between various regions of Europe.

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CROI 2017: New HCV Infections Among HIV+ Gay Men Drop By Half After DAA Roll-Out in Netherlands

A little more than a year after the Netherlands instituted a policy allowing unrestricted access to direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for the hepatitis C treatment, researchers have already seen a dramatic decline in acute HCV infections among one at-risk population, HIV-positive men who have sex with men, according to findings reported at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections this week in Seattle. 

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IHRC 2015: Needle Exchanges Must Meet Needs of People Who Inject Steroids and Image-enhancing Drugs

The numbers of people injecting steroids and other image-enhancing drugs has increased significantly in the last decade, and harm reduction services need to develop new skills if they are to help people using these drugs avoid blood-borne viruses, according to presentations at the 24th International Harm Reduction Conference last week in Kuala Lumpur. Surveys in the UK suggest that rates of HIV and viral hepatitis infections are significantly higher among people using these drugs than in the general population.

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AASLD 2016: Hepatitis C Virus Infections Rising Among HIV+ Gay Men in San Diego

The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among HIV-positive men who have sex with men in San Diego has increased over the past 15 years, especially among men who do not inject drugs but use methamphetamine, according to a study presented at the 2016 AASLD Liver Meeting this month in Boston. Another study by the same research team found that post-treatment reinfection is also a concern in this population.

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IHRC 2015: Harm Reduction Conference Calls for Political Leadership to Reform Drug Policy

The biggest challenges to harm reduction are drug policy and drug laws, Malaysian harm reduction leader Adeeba Kamarulzaman told participants at the 24th International Harm Reduction Conference in Kuala Lumpur last week. Numerous speakers said that punitive and prohibitionist drug policies have restricted access to harm reduction services, contributed to the spread of HIV and hepatitis C, led to unnecessary drug overdoses, encouraged discrimination against drug users, diminished respect for human rights, encouraged the use of compulsory treatment, and resulted in the mass incarceration of people who use drugs.

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STD 2016: HCV Infection and Reinfection Among Men Who Have Sex with Men

Public health officials in Michigan have identified a cluster of more than 20 cases of apparently sexually transmitted hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among HIV-positive gay and bisexual men, according to a report at the 2016 STD Conference last week in Atlanta. Routine HCV screening at sexual health clinics can help detect more HCV infections among gay men, and prevention measures are needed to address the risk of HCV reinfection after spontaneous clearance or a cure, researchers concluded in recent related journal articles.

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IHRC 2015: Peer Workers Improve Drug Users' Engagement with HIV Care in Ukraine

An innovative program in which peer outreach workers use a case management approach to help HIV-positive people who inject drugs to engage with medical services and to begin antiretroviral therapy (ART) appears to be paying off, according to early results presented at the 24th International Harm Reduction Conference this week in Kuala Lumpur.

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EASL 2016: High Incidence of HCV Reinfection Among HIV+ Gay Men in Western Europe

There is a very high incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) reinfection among HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) in western Europe, according to research presented at the European Association for the Study of the Liver's International Liver Congress (EASL 2016) this week in Barcelona.  Investigators found that a quarter of HIV-positive gay men who cleared an initial HCV infection were reinfected within 3 years. The researchers believe that current prevention strategies are failing, and called for intensive monitoring of people who have apparently cleared HCV infection.

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IHRC 2015: Retreat of International Donors, National Government Neglect Threaten Harm Reduction Services

The availability of needle and syringe programs, opioid substitution therapy, and other harm reduction services for people who inject drugs is getting even worse in many parts of the world, due to shifting priorities among international donors and a refusal by many national governments to adequately respond to the health needs of their citizens who use drugs, according to delegates at the 24th International Harm Reduction Conference, being held this week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. UNAIDS estimate that US$2.3 billion is needed each year for a core package of HIV prevention, treatment, and care for people who inject drugs -- but just 7% of this is currently provided.

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U.S. Government Releases New Guidance for Syringe Program Funding

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has released new guidance regarding use of federal funds to pay for many aspects of syringe service programs aimed at reducing the risk of HIV and viral hepatitis transmission among people who inject drugs. The guidance follows a change in federal law that lifts the overall ban on syringe service funding, although the new rules do not allow programs to pay for needles or syringes themselves.

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Coverage of the 2015 International Harm Reduction Conference

Coverage of the 24th International Harm Reduction Conference, October 18-22, 2015, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

Conference highlights include needle exchange and opioid substitution therapy, programs for people who inject drugs, and international drug policy reform.

Full listing of coverage

IHRC 2015 website

10/21/15

AASLD 2015: HCV Infection During Anal Sex May Happen without Blood, Study Finds

Hepatitis C virus is present in large enough quantities in the rectal fluid of men with HIV and hepatitis C coinfection to permit HCV transmission without the presence of blood, researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City reported Sunday at the AASLD Liver Meeting in San Francisco.

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IHRC 2015: Opioid Substitution Therapy, Especially with Needle Exchange, Reduces Hepatitis C Transmission

A pooled analysis of 25 studies has for the first time shown good evidence that methadone and other forms of opioid substitution therapy substantially reduce new hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, according to a report presented today at the 24th International Harm Reduction Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Previously, this had been clearly demonstrated for HIV, but not hepatitis C.

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