Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a potentially life-threatening virus that primarily affects the liver. In Australia, over 170,000 people were estimated to have chronic HCV infection at the start of 2017 and 130,000 were still living with HCV at the end of 2018. The introduction of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapies, which can cure HCV in the majority of patients, represents a major advance and all Australians living with HCV should now be considered for DAA therapy. However, stigma represents a key barrier to diagnosis and treatment. As a result, Australia’s Fifth National Hepatitis C Strategy 2018–2022 has identified stigma and discrimination as one of five key priority areas for action.
This program is supported by an independent educational grant provided by Gilead sciences.