Abstract
BackgroundHepatitis C (HCV) prevalence is most common amongst injecting drug users where up to 98% of the population can be infected despite a low prevalence of HIV. This review considers the evidence for the effectiveness of primary prevention interventions to reduce incidence or prevalence of hepatitis C.MethodsSystematic review of the major electronic medical databases: Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library (Evidence Based Health). Either intervention or observational studies were included if they described an intervention targeting injecting drug using populations with the outcome to reduce either the prevalence or incidence of hepatitis C infection.Results18 papers were included in the final review from 1007 abstracts. Needle exchange programmes reduce the prevalence of HCV though prevalence remains high. Similarly the effectiveness of methadone maintenance treatment is only marginally effective at reducing HCV incidence. There is limited evidence evaluating either the effectiveness of behavioural interventions, bleach disinfectants, or drug consumption rooms.ConclusionPrimary prevention interventions have led to a reduction in HIV incidence, have been less effective at reducing HCV incidence. Global prevalence of HCV remains disturbingly high in injecting drug users. A robust response to the global health problem of HCV will require provision of new interventions. Behavioural interventions; distribution of bleach disinfectant; other injecting paraphernalia alongside sterile needle distribution; and evaluation of drug consumption rooms merit further expansion internationally and research activity to contribute to the emerging evidence base. Whilst the prevalence of HCV remains high, nevertheless many current interventions aimed at primary HCV prevention have been shown to be cost-effective due to their significant positive impact upon prevalence of HIV.
Highlights
Hepatitis C (HCV) prevalence is most common amongst injecting drug users where up to 98% of the population can be infected despite a low prevalence of HIV
The internet was searched using key terms relating to hepatitis C and injecting drug use and reference lists of relevant papers were scanned
The included papers were categorised according to type of intervention. 11 papers were categorised according to the theme of "needle exchange", 3 according to the theme "opiate replacement therapy", 1 according to the intervention of "bleach disinfectant", and 3 according to "expanded harm reduction"
Summary
Hepatitis C (HCV) prevalence is most common amongst injecting drug users where up to 98% of the population can be infected despite a low prevalence of HIV. While approximately 20% of acutely infected people will clear the virus and recover, up to 80% will develop chronic hepatitis C [2]. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 3% of the world's population is infected [3] and hepatitis C has been declared a global public health problem. Nucleotide sequence analysis has highlighted six HCV genotypes which can be further categorized (page number not for citation purposes). Types 5 and 6 have been identified in South Africa and South East Asia, respectively [6]
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