State aims to stop spread of hepatitis C

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced a state initiative to eradicate hepatitis C, a ‘silent epidemic’ disease affecting more than 200,000 New Yorkers.

The effort aims to stop the spread of the virus by expanding prevention programs, treatment and screening services with $5 million in new funding, according to a media release. An Elimination Task Force will be established, and increasing access to medications that can cure hepatitis C is a primary goal.

The opioid epidemic has fueled a rise in new hepatitis C cases, as intravenous drug use is is the most common risk factor.

“We certainly have seen young folks who are infected with hepatitis C,” said Dr. Charles Hyman, a specialist in infectious diseases and chief of medicine at Bassett Medical Center. It’s important that everyone get tested, he said, as most people carrying the virus have no symptoms.

Medications approved in the past five years have increased the curability of the liver disease to over 90 percent, but the drugs remain extremely expensive even as competitors have been introduced. The most appropriate medication for a patient may not be approved by their insurance, and meeting coverage criteria can be a barrier to timely intervention, Hyman said, calling the drug pricing one example of pharmaceutical giants’ greed. The new direct-acting antiviral drugs have minimal side effects and can prevent the need for a liver transplant, cirrhosis, liver failure, liver cancer or death.

Hyman and Otsego County Director of Public Health Heidi Bond agreed that needle exchanges are important to prevention and would be beneficial in the area.

Otsego and Delaware County public health officials said that acute cases of hepatitis C have spiked somewhat in recent years due in part to the opioid epidemic. In Chenango County, a Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition was formed in response to an outbreak in 2014. Medication take-back programs were organized around the county, and are now widely available in the area via drop-boxes in many police station and hospitals to help people get rid of old opioid medications.

Family Planning of South Central New York conducts hepatitis testing for Delaware County Public Health, according to director Amanda Walsh, and has satellite offices in Sidney and Walton one day a week.

Erin Jerome, staff writer, may be reached at (607) 441-7221, or at ejerome@thedailystar.com. Follow her on Twitter at @DS_ErinJ.