LA Approves Change To Hep C Coverage Policy For Active Drug Users
The county's previous stance of requiring the patient to be drug-free for six months was more stringent than even the state's policy.
KPCC:
LA County Changes Policy, Will Provide Hepatitis C Treatment To IV Drug Users
The Los Angeles Department of Health Services will start approving hepatitis C drugs for active IV drug users, the department's chief medical officer has told KPCC. Until now, the department had withheld approval for anyone who had not been drug-free for at least six months. The policy change comes after KPCC reported in August that L.A. County's guidelines regarding IV drug users were more restrictive than those of the state's Medi-Cal program. Most people become infected with hepatitis C by sharing needles or other IV drug equipment. (Plevin, 10/27)
For other public health news —
Modesto Bee:
Sexually Transmitted Diseases On The Upswing In Stanislaus County; Higher Numbers Reported Statewide In California
State health officials are concerned about a two-year increase in sexually transmitted disease cases that is possibly tied to changes in behavior. According to a California Department of Public Health report, cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis increased for the second straight year in 2015, with the number of reported STDs rising faster in California than in the rest of the country. The state data released this week did not include infections with the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. In 2015, there were almost 250,000 people in California infected with one of the three most common STDs, a 12 percent increase over the previous year. (Carlson, 10/27)
Capital Public Radio/KXJZ:
California Regulators Examine Safety Of Food Irrigated With Oil Wastewater
For more than 30 years, wastewater from oil and gas operations has been used to irrigate food crops in California. Regulators will re-examine the safety of that practice during a public hearing Friday. Four oil companies in the state currently send oil field wastewater to four irrigations districts. Once treated, it’s then recycled and used on food crops, primarily in Kern County. To date, no studies have shown that irrigating crops with oil wastewater poses any threat, says Carl Rodgers, with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. (Quinton, 10/27)