Children with hepatitis missing out on treatment

Many Australian children with chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis C infections are not being referred for specialist care or receiving potentially life-saving antiviral medications, according to the results of research published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Dr Edward O’Loughlin, from the Department of Gastroenterology at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, and his co-authors studied the medical records of children with chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis C who were referred to tertiary paediatric and refugee clinics in NSW between 2000 and 2007.

NSW Health was notified of 930 children with hepatitis B and 777 with hepatitis C between 2000 and 2007. However, only 79 children with chronic hepatitis B and 29 with chronic hepatitis C were referred to specialist clinics during this time.

Most of the children referred to hospitals with hepatitis B were refugees or migrants, or the offspring of migrants or refugees. The majority of those with hepatitis C were Australian-born, often to mothers with a history of injecting drug use.

Hepatitis infections can lead to serious illness or death through liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.

“Antiviral therapy is the standard care for adult patients with hepatitis C infection treatment of children can be as effective as in adults,” Dr O’Loughlin said.

“However, antiviral therapy for hepatitis C is not currently approved under the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for those under 18 years of age.”

None of the children with hepatitis C whose cases were reviewed had received antiviral medication, even though it could spare them from serious health problems.

This was due to “a lack of access to medication and insufficient clinic resources”, said Dr O’Loughlin.

The authors concluded that coordinated health care services for children with chronic hepatitis should be established throughout Australia, to ensure children with the condition receive adequate medical follow-up.


The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association

^{The statements or opinions that are expressed in the MJA  reflect the views of the authors and do not represent the official policy of the AMA unless that is so stated.}

CONTACT:   
Dr Edward O’Loughlin     0409 613 788 / 02 9845 3999
Ms Nikki Beltran            02 9845 0512
(Hospital Media Contact