High rates of hepatitis C across Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay heighten the urgency for immediate action from Victorian politicians, health experts warned at a conference in Footscray on Friday.
Hepatitis specialists are calling for rapid testing to be introduced – as is the case with testing for HIV – to help stop the state’s “viral hepatitis epidemic” spiralling out of control.
The latest available figures from Hepatitis Victoria show that in the state electorate of Altona there are 956 people with hepatitis C and 1235 with hepatitis B.
The Footscray electorate has 690 people with hepatitis C and 153 with hepatitis B, while in the Williamstown electorate there are 572 people with hepatitis C and 568 with hepatitis B.
But these figures may represent the tip of the iceberg, according to Hepatitis Victoria chief executive Melanie Eagle.
She said people could be asymptomatic for 30 years, but the past decade had seen a wave of diagnoses among baby boomers.
Only one per cent of people with hepatitis C and 5 per cent with hepatitis B are getting treatment, Ms Eagle said.
“It costs around $250,000 for a liver transplant and ongoing care, but a simple $20 blood test would mean more effective treatment could be undertaken earlier,” she said.
“This is an unacceptable situation, particularly when we know there are a number of low-cost, easily implementable actions that could be undertaken now, which would help stem the tide.
“That’s why Hepatitis Victoria is calling on the Victorian government to remove the barriers to GP prescribing and treatment, to undertake a rapid testing pilot for hepatitis C – as already is the case for HIV – and extend the availability of the hepatitis B vaccine.”
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus, transmitted when the blood of an infected person enters the bloodstream of another person.
About 80 per cent of infections are from sharing or re-using injecting equipment.
Australia faces escalating rates of liver disease from hepatitis C, including a 230 per cent increase in liver-related deaths, 245 per cent increase in liver cancer, and 180 per cent increase in liver cirrhosis by 2030, according to Hepatitis Victoria.
