Location:
Level 6, Seminar Room Wallace Wurth Building UNSW Australia Sydney NSW 2052
Open to
All
Contact for enquiries
Rata Joseph +61 (0)2 9385 0900 rjoseph@kirby.unsw.edu.au
The Kirby Institute is pleased to present:
Professor Andrew Lloyd- Viral Immunology Systems Program, Kirby Institute
"Bloody prisons-challenges and opportunities for Hepatitis C treatment and prevention."
Abstract:
Chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infections are prevalent in custodial settings worldwide, yet provision of antiviral therapies remains rare. There are also high rates of transmission in custody. This disparity between the vast burden of disease, and hepatitis screening and treatment reflects multiple barriers, including at the level of: organisations (e.g. security versus healthcare priorities, financial constraints); health care systems (e.g frequent movements, no electronic record; limited health workforce), and the individual (e.g. fear of side effects, stigma). This talk will present data from three projects in the NSW prisons, including evidence for high ongoing rates of HCV transmission in the Hepatitis C Incidence and Transmission Study in prisons (HITS-p), development of a protocolised, nurse-led model of care (NLMC) incorporating telemedicine and task transfer from specialist physicians to trained nurses to overcome a relative lack of specialist providers; and the Surveillance and Treatment of Prisoners with Hepatitis C (SToP-C) study which is evaluating the feasibility and impact of a rapid scale-up of direct acting antiviral (DAA) treatment on the incidence of HCV infection in four correctional centres in NSW. Despite residual challenges prison health services are well placed to deliver treatment to many people with HCV and make a major contribution to the global elimination strategy.
Bio:
Professor Andrew Lloydis an infectious diseases physician, immunology researcher and Head of the Viral Immunology Systems Program at the Kirby Institute at the University of NSW. He is an NHMRC Practitioner Fellow. He leads a research team studying the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and treatment of hepatitis C infection, Professor Lloyd was awarded an Australia Medal (AM) in 2002 for his work in establishing hepatitis services in the NSW prisons and for his clinical research achievements in infectious diseases.