Five Years of CNP Peers: Part 2

Second instalment of conversations with Hepatitis SA CNP peer educatorsBernadette and Justin talk about what motivated them to become educators to their peers. Read Part 1 here.

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Five Years of CNP Peers: Part 1

Among its other services, Hepatitis SA runs four Clean Needle Program (CNP) sites in Adelaide, at Hackney, Noarlunga, Port Adelaide, and Salisbury. Our CNP peer educators also attend rostered sessions at other sites at various times during the week.

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Coronavirus and Hepatitis

What are the risks of coronavirus COVID-19 for people living with hepatitis B or hepatitis C? People with weakened immune systems (e.g. people on immune suppressing medications, people receiving cancer treatments), older people especially those aged over 70 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people with chronic medical conditions are particularly at risk from the effects of COVID-19.

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Keep Calm and Carry Naloxone

Most accidental overdoses in Australia—especially South Australia—are from prescription drugs, mainly painkillers and sleeping tablets. Many of these deaths can be prevented with a drug that reverses the effects of opioids.

From 1 December 2019 to February 2021, South Australia is taking part in a PBS-subsidised pilot program to reduce opioid-related deaths by making the life-saving medicine, naloxone, available to more people.

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“I’ll have hep C treatment eventually.”

Competing priorities for people who inject drugs

Opioid substitution treatment (OST) clinics are considered ideal locations for providing treatment for people with chronic hepatitis C virus infection who inject drugs, a vital priority group for achieving the goal of HCV elimination. But despite the availability of highly effective treatments with relatively few side effects, treatment uptake is yet to reach the level needed to achieve elimination.

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