Hep C: It's Just a Shot Away

It’s still true—drug injections and hepatitis go together like a…. like a horse dying of liver disease and… something. The point is, intravenous drug users are still a primary source of hepatitis C infection, says the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). Indeed, they may be the leading source. A recent report from the agency estimates that as many as a million people who have injected drugs may be living with a hepatitis C infection, and that anywhere from 40% to 90% of European needle users in given populations are infected. Even worse, the EMCDDA estimates that 30% of patients with untreated hep C go on to develop cirrhosis of the liver in later years. And injecting drug users are more frequently infected with hepatitis A, B, and D viruses as well. To combat the spread of all types of hepatitis, the European group recommends a combination of opioid substitution treatment—typically methadone or buprenorphine—and needle exchange programs.