Posted On: Wednesday, April 8th, 2015
New warning issued for serious heart problems when Harvoni or sofosbuvir is taken with amiodarone The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that serious slowing of the heart rate (symptomatic bradycardia) can occur when the drug amiodarone, which is used to treat an irregular heartbeat, is taken together either with Harvoni or with… Read more »
Posted On: Wednesday, April 8th, 2015
Background Case reports are the basis of most sexually-transmitted infection (STI) reporting systems, but reliance on case data alone is limited by an inability to describe trends among key populations, such as gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM). Sentinel surveillance, in which disease monitoring is done at select sites when… Read more »
Posted On: Tuesday, April 7th, 2015
From BCCDC: Internet-based service makes it easier to test for STIs, HIV and Hep C The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) has gone live with GetCheckedOnline, the first online service in Canada offering easy, convenient testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV, and Hepatitis C. The new service, which is starting as a… Read more »
Posted On: Thursday, April 2nd, 2015
In this issue: HEPATITIS C VIRUS Grazoprevir + elbasvir and other emerging drugs Enter ledipasvir Sirius—ledipasvir + sofosbuvir in cases of severe liver injury Using ledipasvir + sofosbuvir when prior treatment with sofosbuvir failed Grading severe liver disease and predicting survival Ledipasvir + sofosbuvir with or without ribavirin in people with liver transplants Solar-1—ledipasvir +… Read more »
Posted On: Wednesday, March 25th, 2015
by Shazia Masud, PGY-3 Medical Microbiology, UBC Purpose of the study Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by Chlamydia trachomatis serovars L1, L2, and L3. Depending on the site of inoculation, LGV can manifest either as an inguinal syndrome with a unilateral painful inguinal lymphadenopathy (buboes) or as an anorectal syndrome… Read more »
Posted On: Friday, March 20th, 2015
Posted On: Wednesday, March 18th, 2015
New and Noteworthy Holkira Pak cures 94% of people co-infected with Hep C and HIV High cure rates for Harvoni in people co-infected with HIV and Hep C Hep C testing program in an emergency department finds undiagnosed older adults with Hep C
Posted On: Thursday, March 5th, 2015
I HEPATITIS C VIRUS About some terms – SVR12 vs. SVR24 SVR linked to longer survival and other benefits Issues with emerging therapies for HCV Simeprevir + sofosbuvir – experience in the clinic Holkira Pak approved in Canada for genotype 1 Holkira Pak – results in genotype 1a without severe liver injury Holkira Pak… Read more »
Posted On: Wednesday, March 4th, 2015
New and Noteworthy P.E.I. announces their hepatitis C strategy Community-based program successful at linking people to Hep C testing and care
Posted On: Wednesday, March 4th, 2015
The BC Centre for Disease Control has released a report called the BC Drug Overdose & Alert Partnership Report 2014. This report collects and collates the most recent data available regarding substance use and associated morbidity, mortality and enforcement patterns. Data have been obtained through members of the BC Drug Overdose and Alert Partnership (DOAP),… Read more »
Posted On: Tuesday, February 24th, 2015
New and Noteworthy Vertical transmission of hepatitis C estimated to occur in over 5% of births in women with hepatitis C According to a systematic review on vertical transmission of hepatitis C, the estimated risk for transmission of hepatitis C to the fetus during pregnancy is 5.8%, reported researchers in Clinical Infectious Diseases. With hepatitis… Read more »
Posted On: Wednesday, February 11th, 2015
New and Noteworthy Screening Canadians born between 1945 and 1965 could be cost effective According to a modelling study, one-time screening for people 25 to 64 or 45 to 64 years of age could be cost-effective, reported researchers in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. For both age ranges the researchers modelled four options: No screening… Read more »
