HCV News
Week Ending 05/04/2015
CDC Warns of Overlapping HIV and Hep C Outbreaks Among IDUs
'The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an alert to public health departments and clinicians nationwide to be vigilant for HIV outbreaks similar to Indiana's, while warning of overlapping hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission among injection drug users (IDUs). The CDC issued the health advisory at the same time as it published an account of the Indiana outbreak in its April 24 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).'
From the community: May 2015 Recognized as Hepatitis C Awareness Month: Chicago Lawmaker Continues to Bring the "Silent Epidemic" to the Forefront
'Springfield, IL ... Yesterday, the Illinois House of Representatives adopted House Resolution 214 which designates next month as "Hepatitis C Awareness Month. The initiative, which was led by State Representative Michael McAuliffe (R-Chicago), received unanimous support as it continues to shine light upon a disease which, up until recently, received very little attention.'
Frederick County Hepatitis Clinic moves, continues lifesaving work with new medications
'Debi Fairchild was counting on a life-changing event if the medicine she was about to get Wednesday at the Frederick County Hepatitis Clinic Inc. lived up to the 98 percent success rate. She came from Washington County to the nonprofit clinic, one of the few places offering the latest medication and reporting such success, said Constance Callahan, the clinic's executive director.'
If It Gets Approval Quickly, Merck Could Challenge Gilead Sciences In Hepatitis C
'Last week, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), a large cap pharma (market value at $163.48 billion, with cash flows of $7.32 billion in 2014), reported data from several studies of investigational hepatitis C virus (HCV) once-daily regimens of direct-acting antivirals ((DAAs)) grazoprevir (GZR, a NS3/4A protease inhibitor) and elbasvir (EBR, a NS5A replication complex inhibitor).'
Hepatitis C Ups Risk Of Getting Other Types Of Cancer In Addition To Liver Cancer
'According to results announced by researchers at The International Liver Congress, patients with hepatitis C show higher rates of cancer than those without the disease, suggesting that the presence of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) may be increasing the risks of cancer.'
Hepatitis C hits American Indians at high rate
'The rate of hepatitis C among American Indians in Minnesota is "terrifyingly higher" than for other racial and ethnic groups, a state epidemiologist said on Thursday. The occasion was the Health Department's annual release of data for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis A, B and C in Minnesota.'
Implementing the Nation's First State Hepatitis C Testing Law
'As the first state hepatitis C testing law in the nation progresses into its second year of implementation, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) is taking steps to educate both healthcare providers and consumers about the importance of HCV screening for individuals born between 1945 and 1965 (often referred to as the "Baby Boomers") and New York's related law requiring that healthcare providers offer a one-time HCV screening to patients in this birth cohort as part of routine primary care.'
Joint Pain a Major Issue in Chronic HCV Infection-Smoking increases risk of arthralgias in hepatitis C.
'Patient-reported joint pain is prevalent in those with chronic monoinfection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) or monoinfection with immunodeficiency virus (HIV), as well as in patients with HIV/HCV coinfection, according to a study published online in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders on April 19, 2015. But chronic HCV patients report more arthralgia.'
