Importing medicines to treat your hepatitis C is an option full of pitfalls.
Hepatitis Australia and Hepatitis NSW have issued an alert on the importation and proper use of medicines for the treatment of hepatitis C. The organisations had been made aware that some people living with hepatitis C are seeking to import medicines not yet available under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme in Australia to treat their hepatitis C infection.
In a joint statement, the organisations said they understood "the frustrations caused by the current lack of availability of new hep C treatment drugs in Australia" but anyone considering importing hepatitis C treatments needed to be aware of the following:
- Sofosbuvir is never taken on its own to treat hepatitis C.
- Different combinations of medicines are needed depending on the specific genotype (strain) of the hepatitis C virus.
- If the wrong combination of treatment is taken there will be high rates of treatment failure and it may make successful treatment more difficult for you in the future.
- If one hep C treatment drug is purchased from overseas there is no guarantee that Australian hep C treatment providers will be able to prescribe the other drugs that you need to take with it to treat your hep C infection
- Treatment regimens also vary depending upon personal factors such as how someone has previously responded to treatment, whether they have other medical conditions and how severely their liver has been damaged by the hepatitis C virus.
The statement pointed out the need to take care when buying medicines over the internet, particularly from overseas suppliers.
"Quality checks may be lacking and you may end up with tablets which contain dangerous ingredients or an ineffective medicine (including doses of the drug too small to be effective).
"Fake medicines are often packaged to look like a real medicine."
People considering treatment are advised to speak to their healthcare professional about the most appropriate hepatitis C treatment to suit their circumstances, or to get a referral to a hepatologist or infectious disease specialist.
Read the full alert
http://bit.ly/import-alert
