PRESS RELEASE - 13 JUNE 2003

Law blamed for hep C epidemic
By Misha Schubert
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,6588014%255E2702,00.html

THE federal Government's conservative tough-on-drugs policies have triggered an explosion in hepatitis C infections, a secret health department report has found.

And the disease has become an "epidemic", with half a million Australians likely to have the debilitating virus by 2020. The paper, prepared by independent experts for the federal Health Department, lashes the Howard Government for "abrogating responsibility" and refusing to provide leadership and resources to fix the "urgent" public health problem.

Health Minister Kay Patterson has kept the report from the public since she received it last November.

But a copy obtained by The Australian reveals a damning critique of the Government's failure to act.

"The (Government's) strategy has not succeeded in controlling the hepatitis C epidemic in Australia. The urgency of this situation cannot be overstated," it says.

The experts are particularly critical of "zero tolerance" policies adopted by conservative state and federal leaders. The "zero tolerance" approach tries to stamp out illicit drug use – instead of trying to make their inevitable use safer.

"There is a growing recognition that criminalisation of injecting drug use . . . has contributed to increased transmission rates." The experts call for a national public awareness campaign and better partnerships with groups working with injecting drug users.

The hepatitis C virus causes chronic liver disease in up to 85 per cent of those infected. It is transmitted through blood – with up to 90 per cent of new infections from injecting drug use – but rarely spread through sex. The report calls for drastic government action to boost prevention and safety. "Otherwise too many people will continue to become infected and Australia will not be able to meet the substantial costs of treating and caring for the hepatitis C-affected community in 15 to 20 years' time," it says.

The experts also say spending more money makes good economic sense. "Expenditure on prevention of hepatitis C infection will be offset by future savings on end-stage treatment of hepatitis C-related liver disease and liver transplants." The expert panel included Howard Thomas, head of the department of medicine at St Mary's Hospital in London, Fran Baum, who heads the public health department at Flinders University, and Michael Levy, the population health director at the NSW Corrections Health Service.

There is no vaccine for the virus. But a new treatment, which boosts the success rate from the present 30 per cent to 60 per cent and is available in many other Western nations, is languishing without taxpayer subsidy in Australia. Labor senator Jan McLucas said it was "unforgiveable" that Senator Patterson had refused to share the secret report with the public.

"It's simply appalling that she could let this languish in her in-tray when more people are infected every day." A spokesman for Senator Patterson said part of the report would be released next month, while the Government had allocated $16 million to reduce transmission. "That's a significant amount of money," he said.

But Ruth Verzeilberg, who contracted the virus from a shared needle while experimenting with heroin as a teenager, said more effort was needed to stop the suffering of people like herself."We should be doing so much more as a society to stop people needlessly going through this," she said.