Biotech Values

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Injection drug users (IDUs) account for a disproportionately large burden of hepatitis C infection. Ninety percent of new infections worldwide (~90% in Australia, ~72% in Canada, and ~54% in the United States) are contracted through injection drug use [1-4], and the majority of chronic infections, particularly in developed countries, are attributed to injection drug use [1, 4, 5]. Despite advancements in the management of chronic hepatitis C [6-8] and suggestions that treatment of recently acquired hepatitis C can lead to sustained virological response (SVR) rates of up to 98% [9-11], there continues to be a low rate of treatment uptake among current IDUs.

Studies conducted in IDU populations in developed countries suggest that very few IDUs infected with hepatitis C have received antiviral therapy [12-22]. The Australian annual survey at needle and syringe programs (2001–2007) reported that 90% of persons who know that they are infected with hepatitis C virus have never received treatment, and only 0.9%–2.4% were receiving treatment at the time of the survey [12, 13]. In a cohort of 597 American IDUs, only 26 participants received treatment, and the rate of treatment in this cohort remained relatively stable at <1% per year. [14]

http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/49/4/561.long