Hepatitis Australia monitors for news articles which have relevance to hepatitis B or hepatitis C in Australia. From time-to-time we also issue public statements and media releases which will also be shared here.
Recent changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) allows authorised Nurse Practitioners to prescribe hepatitis B and hepatitis C medicines under the Highly Specialised Drugs (s100) Program. Read more
Hepatitis Australia has put together a brief factsheet with information about the coronavirus COVID-19 for people living with hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Read more
04 March 2020 - Hepatitis Australia announces appointment of new CEO Read more
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee will consider loosening the prescribing authority for PBS-listed hepatitis C medicines but the real focus seems to be on securing a price reduction. Read more
17 January 2020 - Hepatitis Australia announces Grant Phelps as the new President of the Board. Read more
14 November 2019: Leaders of liver disease associations from Europe, the United States, Latin America and Asia issued a global call to action at AASLD, aiming to advance toward the goal of eliminating hepatitis C as a public health threat. Read more
4 November 2019: Praise for the CEO of Hepatitis Australia Helen Tyrrell who has announced her intention to retire from the organisation she has led since 2005 Read more
4 November 2019: OTTAWA; Setting up supervised injection sites at federal institutions is the way to go says the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers. Read more
25 October 2019 - this article from The Conversation looks at why it is important to find a cure for hepatitis B, even when there is a vaccine available. Read more
19 September 2019: The NSW Food Authority issues food recall warning due to possible hepatitis A outbreak link to imported clams. Read more
10 September 2019 - The World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA) and the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC) announced a new partnership today on the first day of theFast-Track Cities 2019 conference in London. Read more
21 August 2019 - Changes to the immigration health requirement will have a significant and positive impact for people with hepatitis B seeking to migrate permanently to Australia. Read more
25 July 2019 - Hepatitis C has declined by a staggering 60% among people who inject drugs since new hepatitis C cures were made available Read more
25 July 2019 - We are encouraging people to take a short quiz to see if they may have been at risk of hepatitis in the past and whether they should talk to their doctor about hepatitis Read more
SHPA Chief Executive Kristin Michaels says the recent history of promising new hepatitis medicines has been a bright, albeit temporary success story. Read more
Welcome to our newly updated website. The fresh new look is easier to navigate, so finding information about hepatitis or how to get help is even simpler. Read about the new features and how to leave feedback here. Read more
The latest hepatitis C treatment data released by the Kirby Institute shows that, since March 2016, an estimated 70,260 people in Australia have commenced treatment to cure hepatitis C*. But is this enough to prevent the ongoing deaths each year in Australia from liver disease associated with hepatitis? Read more
Around 74,000 Australians have been cured of hepatitis C through the use of the direct-acting antivirals but elimination by the target date remains in doubt given the significant decline in new patient initiations. Read more
In England deaths from liver disease related to hepatitis C fell by more than 16% between 2015 and 2017, achieving the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) target to reduce HCV-related mortality by 10% by 2020 three years early. Australia has also achieved the WHO’s 2020 mortality target. Some might say that this is good news - but at Hepatitis Australia we don’t agree. Read more
Many people are unaware they have hepatitis C because the infection can have no specific symptoms until the liver has been significantly damaged. Patient uptake might be languishing in Australia but England has acted and announced a new deal with companies that will involve the pro-active identification of people living with hepatitis C. Read more
Hepatitis Australia has welcomed outcomes from the March PBAC meeting it says are "cognisant" of the need to address the fall in treatment initiations and an election commitment from the Greens. The committee recommended a number of revisions to the PBS listing of the direct-acting antivirals for hepatitis C with more "significant changes" on the horizon. Read more
CEO of Hepatitis Australia, Helen Tyrrell today welcomed the commitment of The Australian Greens to support an immediate increase in funding to help achieve the National Strategy targets for hepatitis B and hepatitis C and avoid lives lost to liver cancer. Read more
29 April 2019 - Article from PharmaDispatch about PBAC recommendation to remove age restrictions for hepatitis C treatment Read more
The PBAC is considering simplifying the PBS listing of the direct-acting antivirals for hepatitis C as the latest prescribing data continues to show a sustained slowdown in utilisation. Read more