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MORE THAN HALF TEST POSITIVE IN
COMMUNITY HEP C PILOT
A PILOT PROJECT OFFERING HEPATITIS C TESTING in
pharmacies with needle exchange facilities has been
hailed a success, with more than 50 per cent of those
tested in the four-month scheme having hepatitis C
antibodies. Almost 80 per cent of those who engaged
with specialist services, meanwhile, had hep C viral
particles in their blood.
A report from the London Joint
Working Group on Substance Use and
Hepatitis C (LJWG) highlights the
need for further awareness-raising, as
57 per cent of those taking part were
unaware that medical advances
meant the virus could be treated with
oral tablets rather than painful
interferon injections. The pilot –
which was carried out at nine
pharmacies across London –
demonstrates the potential for
offering treatment alongside testing,
says LJWG, as 84 per cent of
participants said they would be
happy to receive treatment at their
local pharmacy.
Innovative testing initiatives were essential in order
to diagnose and treat everyone who has the virus, said
public health minister Steve Brine, who added that the
government was still working to eliminate hep C by
2025. It is thought that around half of the estimated
160,000 people in England living with the virus remain
undiagnosed, and a recent report from the All Party
Parliamentary Group on Liver Health stated that
‘significantly greater’ numbers of people would need to
be tested, diagnosed and treated if it were to be
successfully eliminated (DDN, April, page 4).
‘This project is another great example of how
community pharmacists and their teams can support the
health of their local communities and engage with
people who may be reluctant to go to their GP,’ said chief
executive of Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster Local
MARKET MATTERS
LONDON GANG TERRITORY is now more
likely to be defined by a drug marketplace
‘that needs to be maintained’ than a
postcode, according to a report from London
Southbank University (LSBU). The emphasis
on financial gain is also exhibited through
alliances with other gangs and aggressive
‘county lines’ expansion, says From
postcodes to profit, which was
commissioned by Waltham Forest Council.
Women and girls are increasingly used by
the gangs to carry drugs, exposing them to
violence and sexual exploitation, it adds.
‘What is striking is how ruthless and
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Pharmaceutical Committee, Rekha Shah.
‘We now have the treatments to eliminate hepatitis C
as a serious public health concern in the UK,’ added
LJWG co-chair and consultant hepatologist at Chelsea
and Westminster Hospital, Dr Suman Verma. ‘Offering
free, accessible hepatitis C testing in community
‘We will
transform and
save lives as
well as
preventing
further virus
transmissions...’
Dr sUmaN verma
pharmacies is a more patient-centric way of engaging
with a group of vulnerable, young people where
hepatitis C prevalence and risk of transmission is high
but, due to personal and social circumstances,
engagement with community drugs services or
healthcare services in general is poor and sporadic.
‘By offering hepatitis C testing in community
pharmacies, we will transform and save lives as well as
preventing further virus transmissions. This pilot project
has the potential to be developed further to encompass
the provision of hepatitis C antiviral treatment directly in
the community pharmacies for this vulnerable, socially
marginalised, at-risk population.’
Report at ljwg.org.uk
See our September issue for the DDN wider health
supplement on hepatitis C.
exploitative some gangs have
become,’ said associate professor of
social work at LSBU, Andrew
Whittaker. ‘Six out of ten gang
members have anxiety disorders
including post-traumatic stress disorder
and a third will have attempted
suicide.’ Report at walthamforest.gov.uk
‘Women and girls
are increasingly
used by the gangs
to carry drugs.’
OUT OF CONTROL
LAST YEAR’S RECORD OPIUM CULTIVATION IN
AFGHANISTAN (DDN, December/January, page
4) is leading to ‘unprecedented levels’ of
potential heroin production, says the latest
UNODC survey. Cultivation jumped by 63 per
cent from 2016 levels, which means up to 900
tons of export-quality heroin with a purity of
between 50 and 70 per cent could be
produced, says Afghanistan opium survey
2017: challenges to sustainable development,
peace and security. In the southern region of
the country farmers now cultivate opium
poppy in nearly 85 per cent of villages, with
insecurity and lack of government control ‘a
clear and well-established link’ to increased
production. ‘Only a small share of the
revenues generated by the cultivation and
trafficking of Afghan opiates reaches Afghan
drug trafficking groups,’ says UNODC. ‘Many
more billions of dollars are made from
trafficking opiates into major consumer
markets, mainly in Europe and Asia.’
Document at www.unodc.org
IN THE DARK
THE UK CONTINUES TO HAVE SOME OF THE
HIGHEST RATES OF ‘DARK NET’ DRUG
PURCHASING in the world, according to the
latest Global Drug Survey. More than 24 per
cent of British respondents said they’d accessed
substances in this way, behind only the Finns
and Norwegians. MDMA, cannabis, LSD and
NPS were the most commonly bought drugs.
www.globaldrugsurvey.com
DEATHLY FIGURES
THE FIRST OVERVIEW OF DRUG-RELATED
HOMICIDE RATES IN EUROPE has been
produced by EMCDDA. Comparing statistics
between countries can identify trends and
help authorities to plan proportionate
responses, says the agency, adding that the
issue is ‘of serious concern in relation to the
overall security situation in Europe and deeply
affects communities at large, as drug use and
drug markets can act as cross-cutting
facilitators of acts of violence’. Drug-related
homicide in Europe: a first review of the data
and literature at www.emcdda.europa.eu
COLLECTIVE GROWTH
Exeter-based EDP Drug & Alcohol Services is
the latest organisation to become part of
Collective Voice, bringing the number of
voluntary sector members to eight. ‘EDP
brings a wealth of experience from delivering
a range of substance misuse services in the
South West,’ said Collective Voice chair Karen
Biggs. ‘We look forward to working with an
expanding membership going forward.’
June 2018 | drinkanddrugsnews | 5