Hepatitis C Care Cascades for 3 Populations at High Risk: low-income trans women, young people who inject drugs, and men who have sex with men and inject drugs

Abstract
Background: To achieve elimination of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, limited
resources can be best allocated through estimation of "care cascades" among groups disproportionately affected. In San Francisco and elsewhere, these groups include young (age≤30 years) people who inject drugs (YPWID), men who have sex with men who inject drugs (MSM-IDU), and low-income trans women.
Methods: We developed cross-sectional HCV care cascades for YPWID, MSM-IDU,
and trans women using diverse data sources. Population sizes were estimated using an inverse variance-weighted average of estimates from the peer-reviewed literature between 2013–2019. Proportions of past/current HCV infection, diagnosed infection, treatment initiation, and evidence of cure (sustained virologic response at 12 weeks post-treatment) were estimated from the literature using data from seven programs and studies in San Francisco between 2015-2020.
Results: The estimated number of YPWID in San Francisco was 3,748; 58.4% had
past/current HCV infection, of whom 66.4% were diagnosed with current infection, 9.1% of whom had initiated treatment, and 50% had confirmed cure. The corresponding figures for the 8,135 estimated MSM-IDU were: 29.4% with past/current HCV infection, 70.3% diagnosed with current infection, 28.4% initiated treatment, and 38.9% with confirmed cure. For the estimated 951 low-income trans women, 24.8% had past/current HCV infection, 68.9% were diagnosed with current infection, 56.5% initiated treatment, and 75.5% had confirmed cure.
Conclusions: In all three populations, diagnosis rates were relatively high; however, attention is needed to urgently increase treatment initiation in all groups, with particular unmet need among YPWID.