Resources

This 2020 update on drug-related infectious diseases from the EMCDDA (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction) aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current situation with regard to the epidemiological picture of drug-related infectious diseases in Europe up to January 2020. It highlights some recent innovative responses to the problem and argues that early diagnosis through testing as well as improving links to treatment and care are crucial steps towards reaching global health goals.

This report from Public Health England breaks down the number of laboratory reports of hepatitis C tests carried out in England and Wales between October and December 2019 by age and gender. A breakdown is also provided by ODN in England.

Published in March 2020, this report from The King's Fund on health and care for people who sleep rough focusses on reducing barriers people face to accessing healthcare services and on commissioning appropriate services. The report argues that to improve health outcomes for people sleeping rough we need local authorities to team up with charities and community services; we need both a population health approach and a place-based approach; we need co-production with people with lived experience of sleeping rough; and we need staff working with this group to be properly recruited and supported.

A new study published this week in the British Journal of General Practice looked at a randomised control trial run in 45 primary care practices in south west England called the Hepatitis C Assessment Through to Treatment (HepCATT). The intervention aimed to increase case-finding, testing, and treatment of HCV through various initiatives in primary care, such as learning resources for staff, leaflets and information for patients, and software identifying patients with risk factors for hepatitis C infection.