Improvements in Quality of Life: A New Hepatitis C Virus Treatment Indication in Persons with Substance Use Disorders

Accepted Manuscript

The Journal of Infectious Diseases, jix682, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jix682
Published: 26 December 2017

Editorial
Improvements in Quality of Life: A New Hepatitis C Virus Treatment Indication in Persons with Substance Use Disorders

Ponni V Perumalswami, MD Andrew H Talal, MD, MPH

Globally, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection occurs in an estimated 52% of the 15 million injection drugs users (IDUs) between 15 and 64 years (1). In the United States (US), HCV prevalence estimates range from 43% to 95% of the 6.6 million IDUs (2-4). Recent increases in opioid use have had unintended consequences, a 294% increase in HCV incidence in the US between 2010 and 2015 (5). HCV infection demographics have also shifted with increases in those 30 years or younger who reside in rural areas (6). Elimination of HCV infection has been prioritized in persons with substance use disorders (PWSUD) with the recent development of a national HCV elimination strategy (7). Many challenges, unfortunately, remain toward achieving this goal including insurance coverage restrictions, limited availability of harm reduction services, restrictive HCV medication policies, and low rates of engagement by PWSUD into HCV screening and linkage-to-care....

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