The experts from the European Liver Patients Association (ELPA) Hep-CORE advisory group provide a great window on the diversity of hepatitis activity and perspectives in the region. In this series of short interviews, Hep-CORE PI Jeffrey Lazarus asked them how they came to work with viral hepatitis, how the field has been changing, and where new research is called for.
First up is Eberhard Schatz, one of the two coordinators of Correlation, the European social inclusion and health network.
How did you become involved with hepatitis C?
I was educated in Germany as a social worker and started working in Amsterdam in 1990 for the Rainbow Group, connecting foreign drug users to services in their home countries.
We also worked with other marginalized groups, and in 2005 we brought mobile drug users and male prostitutes together in one program that drew on our connections across Europe: Correlation. Our focus is to link research, practical experience and advocacy.
I must admit that we started addressing hepatitis C quite late. HIV was in the spotlight, and hepatitis C was only thought of as a coinfection, even though it’s more prevalent and infectious. As you know, we started our hepatitis C and drug use initiative three years ago.
How has the hepatitis C field been changing?
The developments of the last couple years have been remarkable – not just the new treatments, but the increased political awareness as well. But affected populations still don’t have sufficient support and access.
It’s all fine and well to address hepatitis patients and blood donors, but the main transmission route for hepatitis C is now injecting drug use, so we have to focus on the needs of people who use drugs.
Before establishing access to treatment, we have to establish access to information, harm reduction services, and testing, as they do in Georgia. Peer counseling is critical.