Hepatitis C on downward trend in Georgian prisons

About two dozen prisoners undergoing the free Hepatitis C program in Georgian jails have been cured of the disease.

They are among the thousands of inmates to benefit from the Government-funded initiative in the past 18 months.

The Ministry of Corrections today announced the positive results and said the latest 25 patients to participate in the program had been tested and their results showed they no longer carried the Hepatitis C virus.

The Agency noted similar preliminary results for a further 216 prisoners who are due to finish treatment in the "near future”.

The inmates’ treatment process was managed by a highly qualified team of doctors and infection experts, public health experts and laboratory testing staff, the Ministry said.

The decision to administer treatment to prisoners was made by a committee of doctors based on the patient’s medical criteria. Representatives of civil society also participated in the decision-making process.

The Hepatitis C program was a Government initiative that has been carried out in Georgian prisons since 2013. The program involved raising awareness of infection prevention, diagnosis and treatment with the prisoners.

Since the program began, more than 7,000 prisoners have undergone treatment. Experts said 95 percent of infected prisoners were already cured of the disease.

Parallel to the free treatment for prisoners, the cost of Hepatitis C treatment for the public sector was reduced by 60 percent to make the medicine more affordable and accessible to the wider population. People needing this treatment should address the Ministry of Health for the discounted medicine.