Using Geocoding to Identify COVID-19 Outbreaks in Congregate Residential Settings: San Francisco's Outbreak Response in Single-Room Occupancy Hotels.

More than 500 single-room occupancy hotels (SROs), a type of low-cost congregate housing with shared bathrooms and kitchens, are available in San Francisco. SRO residents include essential workers, people with disabilities, and multigenerational immigrant families. In March 2020, with increasing concerns about the potential for rapid transmission of COVID-19 among a population with disproportionate rates of comorbidity, poor access to care, and inability to self-isolate, the San Francisco Department of Public Health formed an SRO outbreak response team to identify and contain COVID-19 clusters in this congregate residential setting.

Hepatitis C prevalence and key population size estimate updates in San Francisco: 2015 to 2019.

Background: In 2017, San Francisco's initiative to locally eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) as a public health threat, End Hep C SF, generated an estimate of city-wide HCV prevalence in 2015, but only incorporated limited information about population HCV treatment. Using additional data and updated methods, we aimed to update the 2015 estimate to 2019 and provide a more accurate estimate of the number of people with untreated, active HCV infection overall and in key subgroups-people who inject drugs (PWID), men who have sex with men (MSM), and low socioeconomic status transgender women (low SES TW).

Methods: Our estimates are based on triangulation of data from blood bank testing records, cross-sectional and longitudinal observational studies, and published literature.

Hepatitis C Elimination During a Global Pandemic: A Case Study of Resilience in Action.

Until the COVID-19 pandemic, San Francisco's hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination initiative, End Hep C SF, was expanding and refining HCV testing and treatment strategies citywide, making progress toward local HCV elimination goals. Although a shelter-in-place health order issued in March 2020 categorized HCV testing as an "essential service," most HCV testing and treatment immediately stopped until COVID-19-safe protocols could be implemented. During the 14 months of pandemic-related organizational closures, End Hep C SF transitioned to a 100% virtual model, maintaining regularly scheduled meetings.

Hepatitis C mortality trends in San Francisco: can we reach elimination targets?

Purpose: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most common blood-borne infection in the United States, and a leading cause of liver disease, transplant, and mortality. CDC HCV elimination goals include reducing HCV-related mortality by 65% (from 2015) by 2030.

Methods: We used vital registry data (CDC WONDER) to estimate overall and demographic-specific HCV-related mortality from 1999 to 2019 in San Francisco and then used an exponential model to project progress toward HCV elimination.

Progress toward closing gaps in the hepatitis C virus cascade of care for people who inject drugs in San Francisco.

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) are disproportionately affected by hepatitis C virus (HCV). Data tracking the engagement of PWID in the continuum of HCV care are needed to assess the reach, target the response, and gauge impact of HCV elimination efforts.

Methods: We analyzed data from the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) surveys of PWID recruited via respondent driven sampling (RDS) in San Francisco in 2018.

Hepatitis C Care Cascades for 3 Populations at High Risk: Low-income Trans Women, Young People Who Inject Drugs, and Men Who Have Sex With Men and Inject Drugs.

Background: To achieve elimination of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, limited resources can be best allocated through estimation of "care cascades" among groups disproportionately affected. In San Francisco and elsewhere, these groups include young (age ≤ 30 years) people who inject drugs (YPWID), men who have sex with men who inject drugs (MSM-IDU), and low-income trans women.

Methods: We developed cross-sectional HCV care cascades for YPWID, MSM-IDU, and trans women using diverse data sources.

Correction: Estimated hepatitis C prevalence and key population sizes in San Francisco: A foundation for elimination.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

New Treatments Have Changed the Game: Hepatitis C Treatment in Primary Care.

In the pre-direct-acting antiviral era, hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatments were complex and largely managed by hepatologists, gastroenterologists, and infectious disease physicians. As direct-acting antivirals have driven up demand for treatment, the relative scarcity of these specialists has created a bottleneck effect, resulting in only a fraction of HCV-infected individuals offered treatment. The San Francisco Health Network is a safety net system of care.

Localized US Efforts to Eliminate Hepatitis C.

The United States has national plans for the elimination of hepatitis C virus but much of US health care is organized on the state level and requires local solutions. This article describes the plans developed by New York, Massachusetts, and the city/county of San Francisco for hepatitis C virus elimination. Coalitions capitalize on existing resources and advocate for new resources to address barriers in hepatitis C virus care.

Estimated hepatitis C prevalence and key population sizes in San Francisco: A foundation for elimination.

Background: Initiated in 2016, End Hep C SF is a comprehensive initiative to eliminate hepatitis C (HCV) infection in San Francisco. The introduction of direct-acting antivirals to treat and cure HCV provides an opportunity for elimination. To properly measure progress, an estimate of baseline HCV prevalence, and of the number of people in various subpopulations with active HCV infection, is required to target and measure the impact of interventions.