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|  6/16/2014 | National News  | Hepatitis Cure for R.I. Inmate: $1,000 a Day/Poll RHODE ISLAND :: Viral Hepatitis
Providence Journal (06.15.2014) :: By Tom Mooney | | | Providence Journal reported that the Rhode Island Department of Corrections has begun paying for the drug Sovaldi to treat an inmate with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection at the cost of $1,000 per day. The 12-week course of treatment can cost $85,000. Prison officials plan to treat more inmates beginning July 1 at an additional cost of approximately $225,000, and have notified the governor and legislatures that they will require additional funding to meet these expenses. According to Corrections Director A.T. Wall, although the cost is of great concern, the prison has a “constitutional obligation” to provide healthcare corresponding to what an inmate would receive if he/she were not incarcerated.
A national study estimated that 1.8 million US inmates are HCV-positive. This number represents one-third of HCV cases in the nation. Wall explained that the department created a committee of doctors and prison staff to review individual cases and to determine whose illness was most advanced and needed the treatment. Wall could not yet say how many inmates may be eligible for Sovaldi by the end of the year or what the total cost would be. He said that previously inmates were treated with different drugs that caused serious adverse effects and were only successful half of the time.
Wall added that the department is also treating a transferee from Connecticut, but Connecticut is paying those costs. Karen Martucci, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Department of Corrections, commented that the state does not provide Sovaldi for inmates routinely, but that the state would continue treatment for an inmate who already is being treated with the drug on entrance to the prison system. |  Read Full Article | Share this Article     | | Back to Top  |  | | International News  | Litigation Threat May Prompt Access to Cheaper DR-TB Drug SOUTH AFRICA :: TB
Health-e (06.13.2014) :: By Laura Lopez Gonzalez | | | Health-e reported that a lawsuit may force the South African government to provide access to a more inexpensive form of linezolid, a medication that treats drug-resistant TB (DR TB). Most South Africans cannot afford the drug’s current costs of R700 per day; Medicines Sans Frontières (MSF), an international medical humanitarian group, began litigation against the government to allow the country’s TB patients to purchase their cheaper version of the drug, which only costs R80 per day. According to Julia Hill, advocacy officer for the MSF Access Campaign, they hope that discussions taking place outside of the courtroom will lead to a successful resolution.
MSF applied to the country’s Medicines Control Council (MCC) last December to grant a Section 21, which allows for distribution of an unregistered medication for a short period of time. MCC has allowed MSF approvals in the past for other generic medications, but the council denied the linezolid application under the basis that affordability was not an issue. MSF appealed in March, but was forced into litigation when MCC did not set up a review committee.
“We strongly disagree with the MCC’s reason for rejecting our application,” said Hill. “The high price of linezolid is the main barrier to MSF providing greater access for our patients.” Hill hopes current negotiations will have a resolution by the end of the week. Approximately 1,500 South Africans were diagnosed with extremely drug-resistant TB in 2012 and fewer than half of them ever started treatment. | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | Medical News  | Few US Adults Knowledgeable About Head and Neck Cancer UNITED STATES :: STDs
HCPLive (06.09.2014) | | | HCP Live reported on a study of the public’s knowledge of risk factors and symptoms of head and neck cancer (HNC). Alexander L. Luryi of Yale University School of Medicine and colleagues conducted an online study testing 2,126 randomly selected US adults’ HNC knowledge. The survey assessed respondents’ knowledge of symptoms, risk factors, and association with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.
Results show low knowledge of HNCs and their causes. Two-thirds of respondents said they did not have much or any knowledge of the subject. Results did not vary significantly with respondents’ reported tobacco use, education, sex, or race. A total of 22.1, 15.3, and 2 percent of individuals identified throat, mouth, and larynx, respectively, as common HNC sites. More than half of the respondents (54.5 percent) identified tobacco use as a risk factor for mouth cancer while 32.7 percent identified tobacco use as a risk factor for throat cancer. Only 0.8 percent identified HPV infection as a risk factor for mouth and throat cancers, and 12.8 percent knew of the relationship between HPV infection and throat cancer. A majority (70 percent) knew of HPV vaccine.
The researchers concluded that strategies for raising public awareness and knowledge of signs, symptoms, and risk factors of HNCs may reduce incidence.
The full report, “Public Awareness of Head and Neck Cancers: A Cross-Sectional Survey,” was published online in the JAMA Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery (2014; doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2014.867). | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | Local and Community News  | CAMC Program Offers Free Take-Home HIV Test Kits WEST VIRGINIA :: HIV/AIDS
Charleston Gazette (06.15.2014) :: By Lydia Nuzum | | | The Charleston Gazette reported that West Virginia’s Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) is trying to reach the one in five people who do not know they are infected with HIV by making testing convenient and inexpensive. The CAMC Ryan White Program provides the public with free in-home HIV testing kits, which use an oral swab and produce results in as little as 20 minutes.
Though West Virginia’s HIV prevalence rate is low compared to other states, the program wants everyone to know their status. “It’s just another mechanism to make it easy for people to get the test and feel comfortable obtaining one, because currently, one in five people in the [United States] do not know their status, and it’s important to get tested if you’re unsure,” said Christine Teague, director for the CAMC Ryan White Program. “With the advent of different treatment options, we can catch it much earlier and better manage the disease.”
Individuals can obtain the in-home tests by visiting the fourth floor of CAMC’s outpatient care center Monday through Thursday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department administers similar tests, by appointment or for walk-ins, at their STD clinic every Tuesday and Thursday from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.camc.org/ryanwhite. | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | | News Briefs | | | | |
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