UIPHP Researcher Presents Findings on Hepatitis C Reinfection Among Patients Receiving Opioid Agonist Therapy at HepHIV2026

Myroslava Filippovych, a researcher at the Ukrainian Institute on Public Health Policy (UIPHP), presented findings from one of the Institute’s research projects at the international HepHIV2026 Conference, taking place on 2–3 November 2026 in Dublin, Ireland. The conference focuses on innovative approaches to testing and timely linkage to care for people living with HIV, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and tuberculosis (TB).

Since 2007, the EuroTEST Initiative has organized biennial HepHIV conferences, bringing together representatives of civil society organizations, policymakers, healthcare professionals, and European public health institutions. The conferences provide a platform for sharing experience and discussing new approaches to testing, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases.

Myroslava Filippovych presented a poster entitled “HCV reinfection after cure among people receiving opioid agonist therapy in Ukraine: a 13-clinic cluster trial of onsite simplified care under different provider payment models.” The work examines HCV reinfection following successful treatment among people receiving opioid agonist therapy (OAT). The 13-clinic cluster trial in Ukraine assessed outcomes of implementing a simplified onsite HCV treatment model in OAT clinics under different provider payment models.

Among 422 participants who achieved sustained virologic response at 12 weeks after treatment (SVR12) and completed reinfection assessment, 26 HCV reinfections were identified. The overall reinfection incidence was 8.6 per 100 person-years. Recent injecting drug use was the only factor independently associated with reinfection. No statistically significant differences between the three service delivery models were observed after adjustment for individual-level factors.

These findings highlight the importance of combining simplified HCV treatment with ongoing harm reduction interventions and systematic post-SVR reinfection surveillance. Such an approach is essential to sustaining treatment benefits and improving long-term HCV outcomes among people receiving OAT.

The presented work is part of the Ukrainian Institute on Public Health Policy project “Simplified HCV integrated management (SHIM) model in methadone clinics in Ukraine”. The project aimed to develop and evaluate a simplified integrated HCV treatment model that enables patients to access care directly at OAT clinics, reducing organizational and diagnostic barriers to treatment.

The project was implemented between 2020 and 2025 with support from the Western-Eastern European Partnership Initiative on HIV, Viral Hepatitis and TB (WEEPI).