MORGANTOWN — West Virginia University, California-based biotech company Gilead Sciences and community organizations are teaming to fight back against one of the less spoken about side effects of the opioid epidemic.
The drug crisis has precipitated a sharp rise in the number of people infected with the hepatitis c virus, or HCV, through the exchange of syringes, effectively creating a crisis within a crisis. However, multiple parties gathered in Morgantown Wednesday morning for the launch of HepConnect, an effort designed to address HCV rates through a multi-pronged approach.
"The area of hepatitis C is one of the areas of unmet medical needs here in the United State today; 2.4 million people today in the United States are living with hepatitis C, and at least 50 percent don't even know it," said Derek Spencer, head of government affairs for Gilead Sciences, adding that the issue is now being discussed in places where it might not be otherwise.
"In my hotel room last night, magazines typically dedicated to fashion and celebrities...on the front page was West Virginia's issue around the opioid epidemic. I am actually glad to see it."
About $11.3 million has been dedicated to HepConnect activities in West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee and North Carolina.
Spencer said the prongs for HepConnect include expanding screenings and linkages to care. This is where mobile clinics and community centers such as Milan Puskar Health Right would come into play. He said supporting community education and harm reduction efforts while activating health-care infrastructure would serve as the other legs to the stool.
"How this will be different is that we really want to engage the communities," Spencer said. "This program is going to be based on our ability to mobilize passionate stakeholders and change the conversation, get rid of the stigma. The success is going to be in how we partner with existing work."
He added that HCV is known as a 'silent killer' because it often goes unnoticed, but if unchecked, it can lead to liver cancer, liver failure and death.
Also speaking at the HepConnect launch was Shannon Hicks. She is the founder and president of the Exchange Union, an organization that's the first of its kind in West Virginia: a union representing users of drugs, former users and their families.
She said there are still common practices taken for granted that make it too easy for the spread of HCV such as being instructed to label containers with needles and placing them in the trash where they can be found. She also said those living with HCV need easier access to medication for the disease, but this often takes a back seat to recovery when speaking with doctors.
WVU's dean of health sciences, Clay Marsh, said a matter of communities coming together is what it will ultimately take to solve the issue.
"The answer is not technical, the answer is love," he said. "We've made steps; what we need to do is increase the speed of the those steps to save people's lives."
As for solutions in action, Marsh said HCV is easily treatable with medicine but the problem is expenses. However, one success story that might be applicable elsewhere is the Louisiana Department of Health's 'Netflix-style' payment system, where an umbrella price is paid, the needed drugs are selected for the patients and the rest left out. He said this system was developed by Dr. Rebekah Gee, the daughter of WVU president Gordon Gee.
Business Editor Conor Griffith can be reached by at 304-395-3168 or by email at cgriffith@statejournal.com
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