In response to the aim of eliminating hepatitis set by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Macau has carried out a raft of prevention and control activities on chronic hepatitis C, including measures for drug addicts seeking help, hepatitis C testing for the general population and blood safety measures, as well as treatment against the disease, the Health Bureau said in a statement on Friday.
Hepatitis C is mainly transmitted through blood contact, especially through needle sharing, according to the statement, which pointed out that it is a major public health problem worldwide that can cause serious diseases such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.
According to the “Macau Health Survey” in 2016, the statement said, the positive rate of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies in Macau’s adult population stood at 0.3 percent, reflecting the low proportion of the general population who have been infected by or exposed to HCV. However, the statement added, the positive rate of HCV antibodies was as high as 60 percent among drug abusers, indicating that former drug users face a high risk of being infected with HCV.
Since June 2020, the bureau stressed in the statement, it has adopted oral antiviral drugs – Direct Acting Antivirals (DAAs) – as the first choice for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in accordance with the guidelines of WHO, aiming to eliminate the source of hepatitis C infection in the community and prevent cases of cirrhosis and live cancer.
The statement noted that as of last year, 212 patients with chronic hepatitis C had been treated with DAAs in Macau.
In response to the high positive rate of hepatitis C virus antibodies among drug addicts, the Health Bureau has been working with the Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Division of the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) since August 2020 to provide hepatitis C testing and referral services for drug addicts, according to the statement.
The statement also said that since 2005 and 2008 the Social Welfare Bureau has launched methadone maintenance treatment and a clean needle exchange programme respectively in collaboration with the Association of Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers of Macau (ARTM) to continuously provide drug mitigation services to drug users and promote the safe use of needles throughout the community.
In recent years, the bureau said in the statement, it has promoted hepatitis C testing among the general population by issuing screening guidelines, providing rapid antibody testing services for the hepatitis C virus since last year and organising different activities, adding that this year, as of last month, two cases of HCV infection had been confirmed and referred for treatment.
This image provided by the Health Bureau (SSM) on Friday shows the QR code of the bureau’s 2023 hepatitis C virus (HCV) Antibody Rapid Test Service, which is available in Portuguese and Chinese.
