Pilot program connects Vancouver immigrant communities with hepatitis C treatment

On the second floor of an immigrant settlement agency in Richmond, B.C., Gigi Lo delivered her first presentation on hepatitis C and HIV to a class of English as a Second Language students Wednesday.

The United Chinese Community Enrichment Services Society, or SUCCESS, sits in a new building near the Richmond Centre mall. That day, late spring sunshine poured into the classroom through its floor-to-ceiling windows.

More studies in Toronto and Quebec look at enhancing hepatitis C treatment for people who frequent supervised drug consumption sites.

Others look at how effective community-based screening programs are in First Nations in Saskatchewan and Quebec.

The WHO wants to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health threat by 2030 as part of its sustainable development goals. Its vision of doing that means reducing new infections by 90 per cent and mortality by 65 within the next 12 years.

Viral hepatitis is also a focus of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, with the centre opening a new facility with facilities dedicated to hepatitis C research in 2017.

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During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory has transitioned to private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. Results required urgently can be faxed upon request. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy has transitioned to private courier for delivery of medications. We recommend requesting medication at least 2 weeks in advance in case of delivery delays, particularly to rural/remote parts of BC. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service

The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
For more details and example reports, please click on the button below