ArticleClinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America2026
Potential Impact of Frequent Testing for Hepatitis C Virus Among People Who Inject Drugs Toward Hepatitis C Elimination in the United States.
Article in Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Missed opportunities for Hepatitis C Virus screening and care among persons hospitalized for injection-related infections.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2026Article
- Health Benefits, Costs, and Cost-Effectiveness of Jail-Based Hepatitis C Elimination Strategies.JAMA internal medicine · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) guidelines recommend testing at least once in a lifetime for all adults and periodic testing for people with ongoing risk factors. However, the testing frequency required for these populations including people who inject drugs (PWID) remains unknown.
methodsWe developed a dynamic network model to simulate HCV transmission among PWID via sharing of injection equipment. We simulated different testing frequencies among PWID, paired with a treatment cascade of direct-acting antiviral therapy, and compared their impact on HCV infection prevalence, incidence, and HCV-related deaths over 10 years. We conducted sensitivity analyses on key parameters and assumptions.
resultsIn the main analysis, testing on average once per 6 months reduced HCV infection prevalence, incidence, and HCV-related deaths by up to 45%, 37%, and 42%, respectively. In the sensitivity analyses, increased coverage (access and utilization) had the greatest impact on all three outcomes, and reinfection risk after cure had a substantial impact on incidence. Lower transmission risk, higher cessation rate of injection, and longer partnership duration decreased the 3 outcomes with or without HCV testing.
conclusionsFrequent HCV testing with treatment had a substantial impact on hepatitis C elimination outcomes. However, it alone in the context of current continuum of care among PWID is unlikely to be sufficient to achieving elimination. Improving access to and utilization of hepatitis C care and harm-reduction services among PWID are crucial to achieving elimination.
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