Reducing Hepatitis C reinfection among people who inject drugs
3 October 2024
A new project aimed at improving surveillance, diagnosis and treatment of Hepatitis C reinfection for people who inject drugs is being led by researchers from NIHR ARC West, the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation (HPRU BSE) at the University of Bristol and Glasgow Caledonian University.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)-funded research, led by Dr Hannah Family, is being conducted in collaboration with the Hepatitis C Trust, Population Health Scotland and the UK Health Security Agency.
Long-term Hepatitis C infection can cause liver damage, cancer and early death if left untreated. There are treatments that can cure Hepatitis C infection quickly.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) wants to combat Hepatitis C by 2030. In the UK, people who inject drugs are the main group who experience Hepatitis C infection and reinfection.
Guidance recommends that people who have been treated for Hepatitis C are tested once a year to check for reinfection. However, previous research by this team found this follow-up rarely happens.
To measure reinfections accurately, more people who have been infected need to go for follow-up tests. There also needs to be a better understanding of the support available to help people avoid getting reinfected.
Dr Hannah Family, Research Fellow at NIHR ARC West and HPRU BSE, said:
“I’m delighted that NIHR have invested in this project. There are effective treatments for Hepatitis C, but if it’s left untreated it can be devastating. Hepatitis C infection in the early days doesn’t always come with obvious symptoms, which is why annual testing is helpful, and people who are reinfected should be able to get treated quickly and easily.
“We know that people who inject drugs have a higher risk of being reinfected. We hope that our work can help reduce the health inequalities that this group face, while also bringing us closer to eliminating Hepatitis C.”
Dr David Whiteley, lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University and former Hepatitis C nurse, said:
“Having Hepatitis C once and being treated doesn’t mean you can’t get it again. Because of that, it’s important that everyone who’s been cured of the virus is offered a yearly follow-up test to check for reinfection. However, we know from previous research that doesn’t seem to be happening, but we don’t know why that is.
“It’s really important to find out why people are not being tested for Hepatitis C reinfection. In this study, we’re going to speak to staff from harm reduction services in Scotland and England, and the people that use those services, to explore what makes it easier or more difficult to offer reinfection testing.
“It’s great to be part of this collaborative project with colleagues from Bristol University and the Hepatitis C Trust. Hepatitis C reinfection is a topic that’s maybe flown under the radar in the past, but its importance to achieving WHO global elimination targets is becoming increasingly clear.”