Letter From the Editor

Dear Colleagues:

As the summer comes to a close, we would like to highlight a few changes at HEPP. First, we have changed the name of our publication to HEPP Report. Our mission will continue to be to provide you updates on the management of infectious disease in corrections, with a particular focus on HIV and hepatitis. Second, Dr. Joseph Bick has agreed to serve with Dr. Anne De Groot as co-chief editor of the HEPP Report. Dr. Bick's decade of experience as a correctional infectious disease consultant will serve him well in his new role. Lastly, we are pleased to announce that Dr. Peter Piliero of the New York State Department of Corrections has joined us as an associate editor.

This month, we discuss the updated NIH guidelines for hepatitis C. HEPP Report members Anne De Groot, Joe Paris, Lou Tripoli and Lester Wright attended this important meeting, held in June in Washington DC. Jules Levin, founder and director of the National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project (NATAP) who has an encyclopedic knowledge of the HIV/HCV co-infection literature, co-wrote the main article this month. Our advisors and editors participated actively in the editorial process. The article is written for and by correctional professionals with applications of the guidelines to the correctional setting firmly in mind.

It is important to note that the NIH panel did not address important issues such as "maintenance therapy" for persons who fail to achieve cure, nor was the panel clear about the duration of treatment for HIV/HCV co-infected persons who have genotype 2 or 3. Future updates of the guidelines may be clearer on this point.

After reviewing this issue, readers should be able to identify which patients are eligible for HCV treatment, list the most effective diagnostic tools for HCV treatment, quantify the severity of the HCV epidemic in prisons and jails, and suggest which patients are more likely to respond to HCV therapy.

Thank you for your continued support for HEPP!

Sincerely,
Anne De Groot, M.D.

Back to the HEPP Report August/September 2002 contents page.