Hep C meds urged for HIV patients

Health networks have called on authorities to ensure patients with HIV/Aids have more access to medicine for the treatment of hepatitis C.

People at higher risk of contracting the disease, including those infected with HIV/Aids, should have check-ups and be screened regularly for hepatitis C virus (HCV), the cause of hepatitis C as well as some cancers including liver cancer and lymphomas, they said.

The Thai Network for People Living with HIV and the Aids Access Foundation made their recommendations to the National Health Security Office (NHSO) in a joint statement issued to mark World Hepatitis Day today.

HIV/Aids patients who contract HCV are also more susceptible to cirrhosis of the liver, the statement said.

According to the Disease Control Department, Thailand has 300,000-700,000 people infected with chronic hepatitis C. Numbers are hard to gauge as many cases go unreported.

The networks called on the NHSO to consider increasing medical benefits so medicines like Velpatasvir and Ravidasvir are more readily available.

The Public Health Ministry must strive to persuade as many generic medication manufacturers as possible to register their products in Thailand to prevent a monopoly by any particular pharmaceutical company, the statement said.

The networks said the NHSO and its subcommittee responsible for buying medicines and medical supplies should include laboratory diagnoses of HCV as part of the procurement of medicines and medical supplies under the universal health insurance system. They also called on the body to accelerate the process of buying medicines so those infected with HCV can receive treatment faster.

The Social Security Office (SSO), which subscribers contribute to and which covers part of their medical bills, must also expedite efforts to make hepatitis C medications available, they said.

The SSO needs to roll out a raft of attention-grabbing public relations campaigns to informing subscribers of the medical benefits and what they are entitled to, they said in the joint statement.