Glasgow Caledonian University researchers Dr David Whiteley and Professor Sharon Hutchinson are key collaborators in a new NIHR-funded project focused on improving the detection and treatment of Hepatitis C reinfection among people who use drugs. This study aims to optimise reinfection testing and prevent further infections, a crucial step in achieving the World Health Organisation’s goal of eradicating Hepatitis C by 2030.
They are both co-investigators in the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)-funded research, led by Dr Hannah Family at the University of Bristol, in collaboration with the Hepatitis C Trust, Population Health Scotland and the UK Health Security Agency.
Long-term Hepatitis C infection can cause liver damage, cancer and early death if left untreated. There are treatments that can cure Hepatitis C infection quickly.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) wants to combat Hepatitis C by 2030. In the UK, people who inject drugs are the main group who experience Hepatitis C infection and reinfection.
Guidance recommends that people who have been treated for Hepatitis C are tested once a year to check for reinfection. However, previous research by this team found this follow-up rarely happens.
To measure reinfections accurately, more people who have been infected need to go for follow-up tests. There also needs to be a better understanding of the support available to help people avoid getting reinfected.
This project, known as ‘Proactive (Hepatitis C reinfection: Optimising surveillance for detection and prevention)’, aims to address these challenges.
Dr Whiteley, lecturer in the School of Health and Life Sciences (SHLS) Department of Nursing and Community Health and former Hepatitis C nurse, said: “Having Hepatitis C once and being treated doesn’t mean you can’t get it again. Because of that, it’s important that everyone who’s been cured of the virus is offered a yearly follow-up test to check for reinfection. However, we know from previous research that doesn’t seem to be happening, but we don’t know why that is.
“It’s really important to find out why people are not being tested for Hepatitis C reinfection. In this study, we’re going to speak to staff from harm reduction services in Scotland and England, and the people that use those services, to explore what makes it easier or more difficult to offer reinfection testing.
“It’s great to be part of this collaborative project with colleagues from Bristol University and the Hepatitis C Trust. Hepatitis C reinfection is a topic that’s maybe flown under the radar in the past, but its importance to achieving WHO global elimination targets is becoming increasingly clear.”
Both Dr Whiteley and Professor Hutchinson, who is a Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health and a Consultant Scientist at Public Health Scotland, are part of the SHLS Research Centre for Health (ReaCH) Sexual Health and Blood Borne Viruses Research Group.
Dr Hannah Family, Research Fellow at NIHR ARC West and the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit at the University of Bristol, said: “I’m delighted that NIHR have invested in this project. There are effective treatments for Hepatitis C, but if it’s left untreated it can be devastating.
“Hepatitis C infection in the early days doesn’t always come with obvious symptoms, which is why annual testing is helpful, and people who are reinfected should be able to get treated quickly and easily.
“We know that people who inject drugs have a higher risk of being reinfected. We hope that our work can help reduce the health inequalities that this group face, while also bringing us closer to eliminating Hepatitis C.”