Hepatitis C Prevalence Among Young Injectors in the EU

"Studies on young injectors (under 25) suggest a decline in prevalence of HCV at sub-national level in Slovakia, which may indicate falling transmission rates. Increases among young injecting drug users were reported in Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus and Austria, although sample sizes in Greece, Cyprus and Austria were small. Increasing HCV prevalence among new injecting drug users (injecting for less than two years) was reported in Greece (nationally and in one region) ⁽¹¹²⁾. These studies, while difficult to interpret for methodological reasons, do illustrate that many injectors continue to contract the virus early in their injecting career, suggesting that the time window for initiating HCV prevention measures may often be small."