How Does Heroin Effect Interferon Treatment?

Published February 8, 2014

Question by Hannah B: How does heroin effect interferon treatment?
Please don’t lecture me, I’m determined to stay clean. I just want a straight answer. I am 16 and have 39 weeks left in a 48 week course of interferon treatment for hepatitis C. Would it be pointless for someone to keep taking the interferon if they were getting high? How does it effect the treatment?

Best answer:

Answer by Suzanne
You should continue to take the Interferon regardless of whether you are on the ‘heroin’.

According to the Swiss Association for Addiction Medicine “Intravenous drug use generally does not negatively influence the outcome of a hepatitis C therapy” Source: http://www.arud.ch/fachbeitraege/somatik/SSAM_Hep_C_engl.pdf

and

“Overall, IVDUs and non-drug users do not differ with respect to HCV treatment eligibility and prognosis.” Source: http://www.arud.ch/fachbeitraege/somatik/poster_arud_hep_0604.ppt

The New Zealand prison system maintains people on methadone who use Interferon for HCV. Source: http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/0/29cd3350b8b7bc1ccc256a800076bab8/$ FILE/MethadoneDraftProtocol.pdf

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