Hepatitis C Treatment Centers is an important force in the effort to eradicate HCV in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Hepatitis C Treatment Centers is an important force in the effort to eradicate HCV in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. We have cured more than 2,600 patients with HCV in the past five years. Because more than 1/3 of uncured patients die from liver cancer or liver failure we have prevented nearly 900 deaths. By extending our reach outside of Louisville we hope to cure more than 1,000 patients each year.
83 patients were referred to the Russell Springs HCV clinic in the first 4 months of operation demonstrating a successful launch. We have submitted an abstract with the details to the Kentucky Rural Health Association for the November 14-15th meeting. We hope to cure more than 200 patients each year at Russell Springs.
Hepatitis C Treatment Centers is reaching out to clinicians and counselors who treat patients with Suboxone, methadone and other medically assisted therapies (MAT). About 75% of persons who inject drugs are infected with HCV. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15955218 Diagnosis and referral for HCV cure should be coordinated between the clinicians who prescribe MAT and those who cure HCV. We are meeting with MAT prescribers to improve the connection to HCV cure.
Dr. Cecil was a member of the expert panel and a contributor as to the report, “Public health impact of a population-based approach to HCV treatment in Kentucky.” The Center for Disease Analysis Foundation’s Polaris Observatory conducted and wrote the report estimating that 78,300 Kentuckians are infected with HCV. About one in fifty adult females in Kentucky have HCV and about one in thirty-three adult males have HCV. You can read the full report here.
The US Preventative Task Force has issued a draft statement recommending HCV screening of all adults. The final statement will be released soon.
This is a much easier recommendation than the current recommendation to limit screening to certain groups. Universal screening has been done for many years for HIV and HCV no kills many more persons than HIV.
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