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September 23, 2024
COMMUNITY AND GLOBAL HEALTH
Impact Story
HCV Treatment Drastically Improved by Faster Prison Testing in the U.K.
Treating prisoners who test positive for HCV is a crucial part of the global initiative to eliminate the disease because it helps reduce rates of infection inside and outside prisons.
The current standard pathway for testing, which takes two to three weeks to get the result, is too slow, and many inmates are released from prison before starting treatment.
Providing access to a simplified test-and-treat pathway through point-of-care HCV RNA testing with Xpert® HCV VL Fingerstick provides results in less than an hour.
"The sooner you can get somebody diagnosed and onto treatment, the better it is for that individual and for the community inside and outside the prison.”
Ashley Brown, Consultant Hepatologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trustand HMP Wormwood Scrubs Prison
According to Ashley Brown, Consultant Hepatologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and HMP Wormwood Scrubs Prison, implementing the GeneXpert system as part of the HCV testing pathway enabled the institution to know the status of new inmates in one day instead of two to three weeks.
“It meant 60% more prisoners were able to achieve that treatment period,” Brown notes. “When we follow them up, the vast majority are achieving clearance of the virus, and it is modifying their behaviour, making them less likely to take additional risks."
Using the GeneXpert® system at the Wormwood Scrubs prison allowed inmates to find out if they had an HCV active infection on the same day as they were tested. Inmates who test positive begin treatment within four days of being diagnosed, considerably improving the cascade of care and leading to a significant increase in the number of inmates who start treatment.
Watch to learn how point-of-care testing simplifies HCV's diagnostics pathway in prisons.
Cepheid’s testing solution provides medically actionable information to healthcare professionals, enabling same-day testing and treatments for infectious disease management.
Learn more about the GeneXpert® system.
CE-IVD. In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Device. May not be available in all countries. Not available in the United States.
References:
1. Z.Mohamed, et al. Time matters: Point of care screening and streamlined linkage to care dramatically improves hepatitis C treatment uptake in prisoners in England. Int J Drug Policy. 2020 Jan;75:102608. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31759307/
2. Point-of-Care Testing Simplifies the Diagnostics Pathway for Hepatitis C in Prisons. Video accessed May 24, 2024. https://youtu.be/eiZiHNeJn7g
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