Combining treatment for chronic hepatitis C with opioid agonist therapy is an effective microelimination strategy for people who inject drugs with high risk of non-adherence to direct-acting antiviral therapy.

Background & Aims: Despite effective direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence is high among people who inject drugs (PWIDs) and non-adherence to therapy remains a major obstacle towards HCV elimination in this subpopulation. To overcome this issue, we have combined ongoing opioid agonist therapy (OAT) with DAAs in a directly-observed therapy (DOT) setting.

Method: From September 2014 until January 2021 PWIDs at high risk of non-adherence to DAA therapy, who were also on OAT, were included into this microelimination project.