Bill Lenane is living life hepatitis C free thanks to a revolutionary new treatment, and wishes more people would take advantage of it.
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The 61-year-old Bulli man was one of the first to trial direct-acting antiviral (DAA) drugs after they were listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme in March 2016.
Within six weeks the virus could no longer be detected in his blood, and he’s now clear of the life-threatening disease.
He’s become a volunteer for Hepatitis NSW, and is helping spread the message that there is a cure during Hepatitis Awareness Week.
‘’Since the new antivirals were included on the PBS about 38,000 people have been cured of the virus,’’ Mr Lenane said, ‘’but people getting tested and treated has now fallen dramatically.
‘’Roughly 280,000 people nationwide had the virus in March last year and 38,000 cured is great but it could get to 280,000 if people got the right treatment.’’
Hepatitis NSW CEO Stuart Loveday said the new treatment was the biggest change since the hepatitis C virus was first identified in 1989.
‘’The availability of drugs that can cure hep C in 12 weeks, with just one tablet a day and minimal to no side effects has totally transformed the hep C epidemic in Australia,’’ he said.
However Mr Loveday said a Kirby Institute report revealed that national treatment numbers had slowed considerably, down from 5000 in March 2016 to 2500 in September 2016.
‘’We are working to reach those who have not yet been tested, or commenced treatment,” Mr Loveday said. ‘’So we are targeting at-risk populations which includes people who inject drugs or have undergone unsterile tattooing or body piercing, those in custody as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.’’
Mr Lenane was just 22 and a heavy drug user when he was diagnosed with hep C in 1979. His drug addiction led to crime, and he spent time in prison with little treatment for the condition, and he developed cirrhosis of the liver.
‘’The longer it’s left undiagnosed and untreated the bigger the chance it will develop into cirrhosis or liver cancer,’’ he said.
‘’I was lucky because the treatment not only cured my hep C, it stopped the cirrhosis in its tracks so it won’t get worse. And, unlike interferon treatments which I couldn’t handle, there were absolutely no side effects.’’
During the awareness week, Hepatitis NSW is urging people to also get tested for hepatitis B.
‘’More than 230,000 people are living with hep B and 38 per cent don’t know they’ve got it according to estimates from the Kirby Institute,’’ Mr Loveday said.
Details at www.hep.org.au