Hepatitis C transmission and treatment as prevention - The role of the injecting network

M Hellard; E McBryde; R Sacks Davis; DA Rolls; P Higgs; C Aitken; A Thompson; J Doyle; P Pattison; G Robins

Journal article

Hepatitis C transmission and treatment as prevention - The role of the injecting network

M Hellard, E McBryde, R Sacks Davis, DA Rolls, P Higgs, C Aitken, A Thompson, J Doyle, P Pattison, G Robins

International Journal of Drug Policy | Published : 2015

DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2015.05.006

Abstract

Background: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemic is a major health issue; in most developed countries it is driven by people who inject drugs (PWID). Injecting networks powerfully influence HCV transmission. In this paper we provide an overview of 10 years of research into injecting networks and HCV, culminating in a network-based approach to provision of direct-acting antiviral therapy. Methods: Between 2005 and 2010 we followed a cohort of 413 PWID, measuring HCV incidence, prevalence and injecting risk, including network-related factors. We developed an individual-based HCV transmission model, using it to simulate the spread of HCV through the empirical social network of PWID. In addition..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Alexander Thompson Author

Pip Pattison Author

Garry Robins Author

Margaret Hellard Author

Related Projects (1)

The structure and dynamics of social contact for human disease transmission models

The methodological advances of this project will enable new insights in important social research. They will not only add significantly to ..

Grants

Awarded by Gilead Sciences

Funding Acknowledgements

MH, EMc, RSD and JD acknowledge fellowship support from the National Health and Medical Research Council. PH is supported by a Curtin University Fellowship. The authors acknowledge the contribution to this work of support from the NHMRC (App-331312 and App-1001144), the ARC (App DP0987730) and the Victorian Operational Infrastructure Support Program (Department of Health, Victoria, Australia) to the Burnet Institute.