The role of low-income and middle-income country prisons in eliminating Hepatitis C

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global health problem affecting 58 million people, 80% of whom live in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). In 2019, 1·5 million new HCV infections and 290 000 HCV-related deaths were estimated worldwide. One in two people who inject drugs has been exposed to HCV, and nearly half of incident HCV infections could be prevented if transmission risk due to injection drug use was removed. Mainly as a result of the criminalisation of substance use and the incarceration of people who use drugs, HCV is the most prevalent infectious disease in carceral settings worldwide. However, HCV-related data from prisons in LMICs are scarce.