Acceptability and Feasibility of Simultaneous Screening for Viral Hepatitis B, C and HIV Among Drug Users and Vulnerable Populations, in Non-conventional Structures "Outside the Walls" by Dual Screening Method RTDs and FibroScan®

According to the French recommendations, eliminating hepatitis C virus by 2025 could be a realistic public health goal in this country. A total of 71,466 patients had treatment initiation between 2015 and 2019. It is estimated that 100 000 people are still infected in 2019.

To meet these ambitious objectives, effective screening policies should be intensified and access to treatment promoted through new care strategies for patients who escape the usual care pathways i.e. people who inject drugs (PWIDs), prisoners, migrants and vulnerable populations.

PWIDs represent a large proportion of patients to be screened and treated. It's still not possible to accurately evaluate the number of drug users who are infected with HCV (45 000 people estimated).

Drug users sharing needles and syringes have poor access to treatment. Dealing with PWIDs in addiction care centers (CSAPA and CAARUD in France) is one way to promote HCV testing, and to keep them in the care pathway. This population requires dedicated models that reduce barriers to care: harm reductions policies, access to therapy in real time and follow-up for the detection of reinfection. So the investigator designed and applied a new innovative concept to test, treat and cure PWIDs in their own environment, called the SCANVIR program, initially tested in four French departments with a regional and now national extension.