When Antonio Gonzalez was diagnosed with hepatitis C in Geneva, Switzerland, doctors told him if he didn't get a new liver within five years, he didn't stand a chance at a long life. As he waited for a new liver, Gonzalez thought about all the moments he'd miss. He wanted to be around for his son's graduation.
Gonzalez hadn't even heard of hepatitis C when he was diagnosed, and didn't know how he got it. A Native American and member of the Comcáac nation, he surmised that he was probably infected with hepatitis C while fighting in Vietnam, where he suffered from many major open wounds.
While he was sick, Gonzalez put together a box of things that people could remember him by after he passed away. When he finally got his liver transplant in 2005, he was able to unpack the box and begin living again. "So beautiful to receive a liver and to unpack, like, 'I'm not going anywhere!'" he said.
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Monday, August 17, 2015
Saturday, August 15, 2015
UK:Hepatitis C patients in England denied lifesaving liver drug
Health experts concerned about decision not to extend Daklinza treatment to patients with genotype 3 strain of virus
Thousands of people in England with a chronic form of liver disease are being denied access to life-saving drugs that are available to patients in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Despite being recommended by European regulators and available in countries such as France and Germany, draft guidance recently issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), the body that advises NHS England on whether to fund certain drugs, recommends restricting the use of Daklinza in England. The stance will affect the treatment of adult patients with a particular strain of hepatitis C.
The move has dismayed health experts and liver disease charities who say it will mean a large subset of the sickest and most at risk patients in England will not receive the treatment they need to prevent them from potentially fatal liver failure or cancer.
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Friday, August 14, 2015
Hepatitis C cases prompt public health emergency in Fayette County
FAYETTE COUNTY -State Health Commissioner Jerome Adams, M.D., M.P.H., has declared a public health emergency for Fayette County, allowing the county health department to establish a syringe exchange program as part of a broader effort to reduce the spread of Hepatitis C.
"Fayette County is battling a Hepatitis C epidemic tied to intravenous drug use," said Dr. Adams. "County officials have submitted a comprehensive, multi-pronged plan to combat this epidemic, and a syringe exchange is one part of this effort to help reduce the spread of this devastating disease."
Senate Enrolled Act 461 made syringe exchange programs legal in Indiana for the first time, under certain circumstances. The law lays out a set of procedural and substantive requirements that local communities must meet in order for an emergency declaration to be considered by the state health commissioner.
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"Fayette County is battling a Hepatitis C epidemic tied to intravenous drug use," said Dr. Adams. "County officials have submitted a comprehensive, multi-pronged plan to combat this epidemic, and a syringe exchange is one part of this effort to help reduce the spread of this devastating disease."
Senate Enrolled Act 461 made syringe exchange programs legal in Indiana for the first time, under certain circumstances. The law lays out a set of procedural and substantive requirements that local communities must meet in order for an emergency declaration to be considered by the state health commissioner.
Read more....
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Canada: Sydney advocate praises N.S. coverage of hep C drugs
SYDNEY — A Cape Breton health-care advocate is welcoming the province’s decision to cover a new line of hepatitis C drugs.
Christine Porter, who runs the Ally Centre of Cape Breton in Sydney, said any move to lower prescription drug costs for the marginalized is a step in the right direction.
She said the island is home to the highest per capita rates of the disease in both the province and the country.
“It’s a great thing when the government covers medications for any disease, especially with hepatitis C; the cost is exorbitant unless you have a really, really good medical plan,” said Porter.
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Christine Porter, who runs the Ally Centre of Cape Breton in Sydney, said any move to lower prescription drug costs for the marginalized is a step in the right direction.
She said the island is home to the highest per capita rates of the disease in both the province and the country.
“It’s a great thing when the government covers medications for any disease, especially with hepatitis C; the cost is exorbitant unless you have a really, really good medical plan,” said Porter.
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A Time to Cure: The Growing Case for New Hepatitis C Treatments
One out of every 100 Americans is living with a deadly and communicable virus, yet most can't access the cure which will save their lives and halt the disease's lethal trajectory.
Hepatitis C now kills more Americans each year than HIV/AIDS and is 10 times more infectious. It has become a leading cause of liver failure and liver cancer -- the fastest-rising cause of all cancer-related deaths. For too long this blood-borne virus has silently ravaged communities across the country, often going unnoticed and untreated until it was too late. Until 2013, the only treatments for hepatitis C were painful and effective only half the time, leaving many patients with nowhere to turn, despite their diagnosis.
But now the tide is turning. Multiple treatments for hepatitis C currently offer cure rates of near 100 percent with minimal side effects. Now some of the biggest obstacles facing hepatitis C patients are health insurers.
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Hepatitis C now kills more Americans each year than HIV/AIDS and is 10 times more infectious. It has become a leading cause of liver failure and liver cancer -- the fastest-rising cause of all cancer-related deaths. For too long this blood-borne virus has silently ravaged communities across the country, often going unnoticed and untreated until it was too late. Until 2013, the only treatments for hepatitis C were painful and effective only half the time, leaving many patients with nowhere to turn, despite their diagnosis.
But now the tide is turning. Multiple treatments for hepatitis C currently offer cure rates of near 100 percent with minimal side effects. Now some of the biggest obstacles facing hepatitis C patients are health insurers.
Read more...
Minnesota DOC Sued Over Failure to Provide New Hepatitis C Treatment Protocol
On May 1, 2015, two prisoners at MCF-Stillwater filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Minnesota Department of Corrections, Centurion Managed Care (a division of Centene Corporation), DOC Commissioner Tom Roy and several physicians. The suit alleges that the defendants “refuse to provide the ‘breakthrough’ drug treatment, viz. the hepatitis-C [HCV] treatment community standard-of-care, which will cure Plaintiffs’ HCV infection in three months from its inception.”
According to a press release issued by the International Humanitarian Law Institute, the lawsuit is “the first federal civil rights class action in the nation” to challenge the failure of state prison officials to provide prisoners with a new, more effective hepatitis C treatment protocol.
The plaintiffs, Minnesota state prisoners Ronaldo Ligons and Barry Michaelson, seek to represent a class of similarly situated prisoners. Ligons, incarcerated since 1992, was prescribed the standard 48-week HCV treatment protocol using interferon in 2006. The treatment was not successful. Michaelson initially tested negative for HCV but tested positive for the disease in 2010. The suit states that Michaelson tested positive “only after being double-bunked with a bleeding, HCV-positive cellmate and his exposure to other sources of HCV in MN DOC facilities.”
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According to a press release issued by the International Humanitarian Law Institute, the lawsuit is “the first federal civil rights class action in the nation” to challenge the failure of state prison officials to provide prisoners with a new, more effective hepatitis C treatment protocol.
The plaintiffs, Minnesota state prisoners Ronaldo Ligons and Barry Michaelson, seek to represent a class of similarly situated prisoners. Ligons, incarcerated since 1992, was prescribed the standard 48-week HCV treatment protocol using interferon in 2006. The treatment was not successful. Michaelson initially tested negative for HCV but tested positive for the disease in 2010. The suit states that Michaelson tested positive “only after being double-bunked with a bleeding, HCV-positive cellmate and his exposure to other sources of HCV in MN DOC facilities.”
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