Modelling hepatitis C transmission over a social network of injecting drug users

Rolls, David A.; Daraganova, Galina; Sacks‐Davis, Rachel; Hellard, Margaret; Jenkinson, Rebecca; McBryde, Emma S.; Pattison, Philippa; Robins, Garry

doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2011.12.008

Cited by 47 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…A concern about embarking on a locally based strategy of treating the immediate network (known as a ‘treat your friends’ approach—see below)10 is that HCV infection might be introduced from outside the network. However, our models showed that HCV transmission through the network can be disrupted if an infected individual is treated and becomes HCV negative, even when some HCV is introduced (or imported) from outside the network 27. This suggests that the structure of the injecting network makes HCV elimination plausible at a local level, particularly when treatment is combined with effective harm reduction.…”

Section: Treatment and Harm Reductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Modelling confirms this assertion, with HCV transmission being slower through an empiric network than if all PWID are homogeneously linked 2727 a large international collaboration28 examining incident HCV infection in PWID reported distinct genetic clusters of acute HCV infection in North America, Europe and Australia 29…”

Section: Treatment and Harm Reductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…One of the features of our model is that it assumes that only part of the burden of incident infection came from within the social network itself, and the remainder was imported 10 27 40. The portion of imported infection includes sources from the neighbourhoods that we sampled who were not recruited into our study, as well as sources from outside these neighbourhoods.…”

Section: Opportunities To Enhance Eliminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Hepatitis C elimination by 2030 through treatment and prevention: think global, act in local networks

Hellard

Sacks‐Davis

Doyle

2016

J Epidemiol Community Health

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Section: Treatment and Harm Reductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Treatment and Harm Reductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Opportunities To Enhance Eliminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Hepatitis C elimination by 2030 through treatment and prevention: think global, act in local networks

Hellard

Sacks‐Davis

Doyle

2016

J Epidemiol Community Health

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“…Mathematical modelling using Australian, British and Canadian data suggest that treating a relatively small proportion of PWID with chronic HCV infection could significantly reduce HCV prevalence over 15 years [25][26][27][28][29]. These models demonstrate that the impact on prevalence varies on the number of individuals treated, the background prevalence of HCV, treatment effectiveness, M a n u s c r i p t [30]. Based on social network models, treating an individual in conjunction with all their known partners could have the greatest prevention benefit and be practically implemented [31].…”

Section: Public Health Benefits Of Treating Pwidmentioning

confidence: 87%

Global policy and access to new hepatitis C therapies for people who inject drugs

Doyle

Aspinall

Hutchinson

et al. 2015

International Journal of Drug Policy

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People who inject drugs (PWID) are disproportionately affected by hepatitis C virus (HCV). This review outlines policy recommendations made in the 2014 World Health Organisation (WHO) Guidelines on Screening, Care and Treatment of HCV and their relevance to PWID. It also canvasses issues that will affect translation of these global guidelines into practice. The first global HCV guidelines released by WHO have recently advocated targeted HCV testing for PWID, assessment of liver disease and support for alcohol reduction during care. They also strongly advocate treatment using currently licensed direct-acting antiviral agents for all individuals, in particular PWID as a key affected population. New HCV treatment regimens have the potential to cure more than 90% of treated individuals. Scaling-up treatment among PWID has the potential to improve individual and population health by reducing HCV transmission, improving quality of life and supporting behaviour modifications that lead to less risk-taking over time. PWID face several barriers to accessing HCV care and treatment that need to be overcome. Testing services need re-orientation toward PWID, individuals need to be informed of their results and provided with direct linkage to ongoing care. Health services need to provide care in the community using simpler, cheaper and more accessible modes of delivery. Healthcare costs and pharmaceutical costs need to be minimised so PWID, who are highly marginalised, can access HCV treatment. Sustained scale-up of treatment for PWID could simultaneously improve individual health and achieve the goal of eliminating HCV transmission among this high-risk and vulnerable group.

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“…This underscores the importance and potential value of timely notification, injection partnership notification and expanded postnotification counselling 42 43. A recent systematic review of 28 qualitative studies examining PWID experiences with HCV testing identified several major themes including missed opportunities at the time of notification for sharing information and advice, particularly when a positive test result was unexpected 44.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A longitudinal study of hepatitis C virus testing and infection status notification on behaviour change in people who inject drugs

Spelman

Morris

Zang

et al. 2015

J Epidemiol Community Health

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Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing and counseling have the potential for impacting individual behaviour and transmission dynamics at the population level. Evidence of the impact of HCV-positive status notification on injection risk reduction is limited. The objective of our study was to (1) assess drug and alcohol use and injection risk behaviors following notification; (2) to compare behaviour change in people who inject drugs (PWID) who received a positive test result and those who remained negative; and (3) to assess the effect of age on risk behavior. Methods Data from the InC3 Study were analyzed. Participants initially HCV seronegative were followed prospectively with periodic HCV blood testing and post-test disclosure and interview-administered questionnaires assessing drug use and injection behaviours. Multivariable generalized estimating equations were used to assess behavioral changes over time. Results Notification of a HCV positive test was independently associated with a small increase in alcohol use relative to notification of a negative test. No significant differences in post-notification injection drug use, receptive sharing of ancillary injecting equipment and syringe borrowing post-notification were observed between diagnosis groups. Younger PWID receiving a positive HCV test notification demonstrated a significant increase in subsequent alcohol use compared with younger HCV negative. Conclusion PWID receiving a HCV positive notification increased frequency of alcohol use post-notification, whilst no reduction in injection drug use behaviors was observed between notification groups. These findings underscore the need to develop novel communication strategies during post-test notification to improve their impact on subsequent alcohol use and risk behaviors.

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Modelling hepatitis C transmission over a social network of injecting drug users

Cited by 47 publications

References 33 publications

Hepatitis C elimination by 2030 through treatment and prevention: think global, act in local networks

Hepatitis C elimination by 2030 through treatment and prevention: think global, act in local networks

Global policy and access to new hepatitis C therapies for people who inject drugs

A longitudinal study of hepatitis C virus testing and infection status notification on behaviour change in people who inject drugs

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