CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update 01/04/2006

Wednesday, January 04, 2006


NORTH DAKOTA: "Doctors Collecting Information on Hepatitis Drug"
Associated Press (12.27.05)
A team of Bismarck doctors are using data from medical charts to analyze the
treatment of North Dakota prisoners infected with hepatitis C. Drs. Jeff
Hostetter, Kent Martin, John Hagan and Olimpia Rauta will eventually present
the information to CDC.

Methamphetamine, which is linked to needle-sharing by drug users, is being
blamed for a rise in hepatitis C cases. In 2000, Hostetter said 10 percent
of inmates in the North Dakota State Penitentiary were meth users. That
number rose to 62 percent in 2005. "People who use meth have high-risk
behavior," explained Hostetter. "When they're tweaked out on meth, they
don't care about having clean needles."

Martin and Hagan have been treating hepatitis C-infected inmates with
consensus interferon, a drug that is less expensive and has fewer side
effects than the more common treatment. However, consensus interferon must
be administered three times a week, which proves difficult from some
patients. "They forget or just don't come in for the shot. It's not
effective if they don't get them," said Hostetter.

According to Hostetter, inserting a pump to deliver consensus interferon is
an option for ensuring timely dosing. Another option is having public health
officials give the injections to make sure patients receive them on time.

_________________________________________________________________