Tuesday, June 25, 2024

LA County Calls for Enhanced Efforts on Hepatitis C Testing, Treatments

By ANUSHA SHANKAR, City News Service

The Board of Supervisors directed its Departments of Public Health and Health Services Tuesday to provide Hepatitis C testing to patients in primary care settings, including pregnant women and other people considered at high risk.

Hepatitis C is a liver infection that spreads through contact with blood from an infected person. Introduced by Supervisor Hilda Solis, the motion approved Tuesday states that two-thirds of individuals exposed to HCV develop a long-term infection, which can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer, making it a leading infectious disease cause of death.

The motion also notes that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated its guidance to recommend universal HCV screening for all adults 18 and older, all pregnant people during each pregnancy, and more frequent testing of people in certain high-risk groups.

“Only one in three residents in the county with Hepatitis C are treated,” Solis said. “Unfortunately, this is largely because many individuals that have Hepatitis C are not aware that they have the infection and when they do, it’s too late.”

The CDC notes that Hepatitis C is one of the most common types of viral hepatitis in the nation, with more than 4 million individuals diagnosed from 2017-20. Most cases are usually asymptomatic, making it harder to detect without testing, according to the CDC.

Solis’ motion stated that among injection substance users, 80% have HCV, and among those tested in county jails, 34% were positive. With 27% individuals on Skid Row having HCV, unhoused individuals are at a higher risk, along with individuals born between 1945-1965, primarily due to infections prior to treatment availability.

“Hepatitis C was considered a death sentence and almost 10 years ago, the FDA approved the first reliable cure,” Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said.

Calling the cure “one of the most dramatic scientific achievements in the last decade,” Horvath offered her support for the motion, noting that the Biden administration developed a national program to eliminate HCV that had gone unfunded by the Congress.

Medication to treat HCV consists of one to three tablets per day for eight to 12 weeks, which is covered by all insurance plans, including Medi-Cal, the motion states.

DPH and DHS were directed to require all county clinical care sites performing testing to report back with all cases and coordinate treatment with relevant departments.