Contact tracing for hepatitis C: The case for novel screening strategies as we strive for viral elimination

Katzman, Caroline; Mateu‐Gelabert, Pedro; Kapadia, Shashi N; Eckhardt, Benjamin

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2019.04.003

Cited by 21 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…PWID who are engaged with services often help educate and connect their peers—these individuals can be empowered to encourage HCV testing 43,44 . Public health agencies can extend their reach by implementing contact tracing, in which injection partners of newly infected individuals are offered testing, but these services need to be implemented without fear of criminalization or stigma 9 . Educational initiatives may also be effective, but to maximize impact, these would need to successfully reach individuals not currently engaged with programmes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several jurisdictions, including New York City, have seen a new peak of HCV prevalence in this younger age group 6,7 . If HCV elimination efforts are to be effective, engaging and treating this newly infected and highly marginalized population will be critical 8,9 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…this newly infected and highly marginalized population will be critical. 8,9 In certain respects, the current population of young people who are newly infected with HCV face a very different reality than previous cohorts. HCV treatment with all-oral direct-acting antivirals, only available since 2014, is simple, well-tolerated and proven to be highly effective in both clinical trials and real-world studies of this population.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hepatitis C testing and treatment uptake among young people who use opioids in New York City: A cross‐sectional study

Kapadia

Katzman

Fong

et al. 2020

Journal of Viral Hepatitis

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Fuelled by the opioid crisis, the incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in people who use drugs is rising. 1 In national surveillance data, the highest incidence of acute HCV infection is in individuals aged 20-29. 2 This incidence is driven by initiation of injection drug use in this age group: 20% of individuals become HCV-infected within two years of starting to inject drugs, and half within five years. 3 People who use drugs but do not report a history of injection are also at higher risk for hepatitis C than the general population, possibly due to sexual risk or because of unreported injection drug use. 4,5 Several jurisdictions, including New York City, have seen a new peak of HCV prevalence in this younger age group. 6,7 If HCV elimination efforts are to be effective, engaging and treating

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hepatitis C testing and treatment uptake among young people who use opioids in New York City: A cross‐sectional study

Kapadia

Katzman

Fong

et al. 2020

Journal of Viral Hepatitis

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“…Use of molecular epidemiologic methods to investigate transmission of infectious diseases addresses many limitations of traditional contact tracing, for which data collection is often time-intensive and results may be subject to recall and social desirability biases. Contact tracing among persons who engage in illegal activity is especially challenging because these persons are often reluctant to disclose injecting behaviors or name injecting partners because of stigma or fear of criminal repercussions ( 30 ). Therefore, identifying transmission linkages with GHOST can support more targeted contact tracing strategies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hepatitis C Virus Transmission Clusters in Public Health and Correctional Settings, Wisconsin, USA, 2016–20171

Hochstatter¹,

Tully²,

Power³

et al. 2021

Emerg. Infect. Dis.

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Ending the hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemic requires stopping transmission among networks of persons who inject drugs. Identifying transmission networks by using genomic epidemiology may inform community responses that can quickly interrupt transmission. We retrospectively identified HCV RNA–positive specimens corresponding to 459 persons in settings that use the state laboratory, including correctional facilities and syringe services programs, in Wisconsin, USA, during 2016–2017. We conducted next-generation sequencing of HCV and analyzed it for phylogenetic linkage by using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Global Hepatitis Outbreak Surveillance Technology platform. Analysis showed that 126 persons were linked across 42 clusters. Phylogenetic clustering was higher in rural communities and associated with female sex and younger age among rural residents. These data highlight that HCV transmission could be reduced by expanding molecular-based surveillance strategies to rural communities affected by the opioid crisis.

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“…Besides coronaviruses, contact tracing has also been implemented to control tuberculosis, hepatitis and HIV and other sexually transmitted infections [7,8,9,10]. But these are rather different illnesses to Covid-19, generally infecting Isolation of infected people and their contacts is likely to be effective against many short-term epidemics A PREPRINT patients for longer and spreading slower through populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isolation of infected people and their contacts is likely to be effective against many short-term epidemics

Geffen

Low

2020

Preprint

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Background: Isolation of infected people and their contacts may be an effective way to control outbreaks of infectious disease, such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2. Models can provide insights into the efficacy of contact tracing, coupled with isolating or quarantining at risk people. Methods: We developed an agent-based model and simulated 15, 000 short term illnesses, with varying characteristics. For each illness we ran ten simulations on the following scenarios: (1) No tracing or isolation (None), (2) isolation of agents who have tested positive (Isolation), (3) scenario 2 coupled with minimal contact tracing and quarantine of contacts (Minimum), (4) scenario 3 with more effective contact tracing (Moderate), and (5) perfect isolation of agents who test positive and perfect tracing and quarantine of all their contacts (Maximum). Results: The median total infections of the Isolation, Minimum, Moderate and Maximum scenarios were 80%, 40%, 17% and 4% of the no intervention scenario respectively. Conclusions: Isolation of infected patients and quarantine of their contacts, even if moderately well implemented, is likely to substantially reduce the number of infections in an outbreak. Randomized controlled trials to confirm these results in the real world and to analyse the cost effectiveness of contact tracing and isolation during coronavirus and influenza outbreaks are warranted.

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Contact tracing for hepatitis C: The case for novel screening strategies as we strive for viral elimination

Cited by 21 publications

References 49 publications

Hepatitis C testing and treatment uptake among young people who use opioids in New York City: A cross‐sectional study

Hepatitis C testing and treatment uptake among young people who use opioids in New York City: A cross‐sectional study

Hepatitis C Virus Transmission Clusters in Public Health and Correctional Settings, Wisconsin, USA, 2016–20171

Isolation of infected people and their contacts is likely to be effective against many short-term epidemics

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