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April 15, 2002

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"NSW: Drug Injection Fuelling Hep C Epidemic"

Australian Associated Press  (AAP) (aap.com.au) (04/14/02); Skatssoon, Judy

Specialist Robert Batey of Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital reports in the Medical Journal of Australia that each year, there are an estimated 11,000 new hepatitis C infections in Australia. Batey noted that the increased rate of infection is due primarily to injection drug use and the lack of an available and effective treatment.  He calls for  a boost in spending and research to find a suitable vaccine against what the Australian National Council on AIDS Hepatitis C and Related Diseases calls the most commonly notified communicable disease in the country, with 91 percent of new infections being directly linked to shared needles.  In a recent report by the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board, it was found that Australia still has much maturing to do in order to deal with the disease without discrimination, even among healthcare workers.

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