The role of prevention strategies in achieving HCV elimination in Canada: what are the remaining challenges?

Abstract

Background: The worldwide economic, health, and social consequences of drug use disorders are devastating. Injection drug use is now a major factor contributing to hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission globally, and it is an important public health concern.

Methods: This article presents a narrative review of scientific evidence on public health strategies for HCV prevention among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Canada.

Results: A combination of public health strategies including timely HCV detection and harm reduction (mostly needle and syringe programmes and opioid substitution therapy) have helped to reduce HCV transmission among PWID. The rising prevalence of pharmaceutical opioid and methamphetamine use and associated HCV risk in several Canadian settings has prompted further innovation in harm reduction, including supervised injection facilities and low-threshold opioid substitution therapies. Further significant decreases in HCV incidence and prevalence, and in corresponding disease burden, can only be accomplished by reducing transmission among high-risk persons and enhancing access to HCV treatment for those at the greatest risk of disease progression or viral transmission. Highly effective and tolerable direct-acting antiviral therapies have transformed the landscape for HCV-infected patients and are a valuable addition to the prevention toolkit. Curing HCV-infected persons, and thus eliminating new infections, is now a real possibility.

Conclusions: Prevention strategies have not yet ended HCV transmission, and sharing of injecting equipment among PWID continues to challenge the World Health Organization goal of eliminating HCV as a global public health threat by 2030. Future needs for research, intervention implementation, and uptake in Canada are discussed.

Keywords: harm reduction; hepatitis C; injection drug use; people who inject drugs.