Are Interferon-Free Direct-Acting Antivirals for the Treatment of HCV Enough to Control the Epidemic among People Who Inject Drugs?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Widely access to interferon-free direct-acting antiviral regimens (IFN-free DAA) is poised to dramatically change the impact of the HCV epidemic among people who inject drugs (PWID). We evaluated the long-term effect of increasing HCV testing, treatment and engagement into harm-reduction activities, focused on active PWID, on the HCV epidemic in British Columbia (BC), Canada.

Methods

We built a compartmental model of HCV disease transmission stratified by disease progression, transmission risk, and fibrosis level. We explored the effect of: (1) Increasing treatment rates from 8 to 20, 40 and 80 per 1000 infected PWID/year; (2) Increasing treatment eligibility based on fibrosis level; (3) Maximizing the effect of testing by performing it immediately upon ending the

SUBMITTER: Lima VD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4669174 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature