2019 "Montpellier Without Hepatitis C" Universal Screening Campaign: Description and Evaluation

Introduction - An innovative program bringing together numerous partners (hospitals, private practitioners, nonprofit organizations, and institutions) has been developed to implement, at various locations within the same clinical laboratory, a universal screening campaign for individuals who may have been infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the city of Montpellier over a three-month period, from mid-September to mid-December 2019. The objective of this article is to present the screening campaign and provide quantitative data for its evaluation. Methods - The study population consisted of: i) individuals who presented directly at the Montpellier MBL during the defined period, without a prescription and at no cost; ii) individuals for whom a physician had identified a risk of HCV infection and had subsequently prescribed screening. A questionnaire identifying risk factors was administered at the time of sample collection. Results - Over the 13-week screening period, 10,143 screening tests were performed, 8.7% of which were on patients without a prescription. A 22% increase in the number of tests performed compared to the same period in 2018 was noted. The seropositivity rate was 0.89% (90 positive serology results), compared to 1.12% (N=95) in 2018. In total, 9 patients tested positive for RNA and were treated. The questionnaire response rate was 57%, and the main risk factors were various risky behaviors (33%) and medical procedures (33%). Conclusion - This screening campaign model is innovative and could be replicated for other topics. Although the evaluation could not demonstrate an improvement in the detection of new cases, it did highlight the value of a multi-partner collaboration combining screening and patient care.

Author(s): Guinard Anne, Riondel Adeline, Six Caroline, Pageaux Georges Philippe, Meszaros Magdalena, Hottier Thomas, Laruelle Jean-Marc, Brouard Cécile, Bruyand Mathias, Mouly Damien

Publishing year: 2020

Pages: 604-611

Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin, 2020, n° 31-32, p. 604-611

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