Harm Reduction Coalition : HEPATITIS C

HEPATITIS C

Hepatitis C is the most common blood-borne virus in the United States, with 3-4 million Americans currently infected. Injecting drugs using shared syringes or equipment is the leading cause of hepatitis C, and the majority of people who inject drugs are infected. Left untreated, hepatitis C can cause serious liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer. HIV-positive persons coinfected with hepatitis C are at greater risk for liver damage from the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

As with HIV, injection drug users experience hepatitis C as a disease whose management is often complicated by stigma, criminalization and denial of basic human rights.

Educational Materials - HRC Resources
Download fact sheets, educational brochures and training materials for your own use.

Standard of Care
HRC advocates for the following standards of practice with regard to hepatitis C virus (HCV) and drug users.

Hepatitis C Project
The Hepatitis C Harm Reduction Project was a NYC Council-funded technical assistance project initiated in late 2003 based on advocacy efforts of the Injection Drug User Health Alliance (IDUHA). From 2003 through 2007, Hepatitis C Project Staff designed and implemented model forms of hepatitis C programming at New York City’s 13 Syringe Exchange and Expanded Syringe Access Programs (ESAP). These Service Delivery Models include: hepatitis C testing, HAV/HBV vaccination, treatment education and support groups, drug-user led prevention initiatives, and expanded access to care and treatment.

Does cleaning syringes with bleach kill Hep C?
Some brief videos that address the effectiveness of cleaning syringes to reduce the risk of contamination of Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B & HIV

Hepatitis C Counseling
This Hepatitis C Counseling Manual is written for practitioners who will be providing Hepatitis C testing and discussing risk reduction strategies with active and former drug users.

Guía para Implementar Grupos de Apoyo para Usarios de Drogas con Hepatitis C: Manual Para Facilitadores
Esta guía ha sido desarrollada con información colectiva de participantes de programas de intercambio de jeringuillas y proveedores de servicios que trabajan con grupos de apoyo de la hepatitis C (VHC) en la Ciudad de Nueva York. Juntos hemos reunido algunas de “las mejores practicas” para establecer grupos para personas con VHC basados en reducción de daño. También ofrecemos a los facilitadores sugerencias prácticas y herramientas creativas para efectivamente mantener un grupo que cumpla con las necesidades únicas y diversas de aquellos que usaron y que aun usan drogas. (Spanish Version of HCV Support Groups for Drug Users)

Hepatitis C Support Groups For Drug Users: Facilitator Manual
This guide was developed with the collective input of syringe exchange participants and service providers involved in hepatitis C (HCV) support groups throughout New York City. Together we have compiled some ‘best practices’ for establishing HCV groups within a harm reduction framework. We also offer facilitators practical suggestions and creative tools for effectively maintaining a group that meets the unique and varied needs of drug users.

Entrenamiento para trabajadores y educadores de la hepatitis C: Manual de 3 sesiones para trabajadores de alcance comunitario y educadores en los programas de Intercambio de Jeringuillas

Frontline Hepatitis C Training: a 3-Session Curriculum For Syringe Exchange Peer Outreach Workers
The Frontline Hepatitis C Training introduces basic concepts about outreach work, peer education, and hepatitis C using a standard format. This 3 session training was designed to help syringe exchange peers integrate hepatitis C into their work with current and former drug users.

Adult Viral Hepatitis Resource Guide for San Francisco - 2008
A resource guide for San Francisco viral hepatitis prevention and care services.

Overview of Hepatitis C & Working with Drug Users
by Narelle Ellendon, Sept 2nd, 2008

HCV Research
This is an introduction to some of the wealth of research on hepatitis C prevention, care, and treatment for injecting drug users.

NY AIDS Institute HCV Backgound Paper

Success in Getting NIH to Change HCV Guidelines for Drug Users
The 1997 NIH HCV Guidelines generated by the Management of Hepatitis C National Institutes Of Health Consensus Development Conference stated that "Treatment of patients who are drinking significant amounts of alcohol or who are actively using illicit drugs should be delayed until these habits are discontinued for at least 6 months." This effort was successful in changing NIH guidelines.

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