Clear evidence from the '70s, '80s and '90s shows time and time again
the ", whatever resources and brilliant minds are applied to the problem.

Hepatitis C (HCV), a virus transmitted through blood-to-blood contact,
is transmitted at the rate of 11,000 new infections each year
Australia-wide. Ninety per cent of cases arise as a result of people
sharing drug-injecting equipment. HCV is one of the major harms that
must be reduced.

Hepatitis C: the Neglected Epidemic, the recent landmark bipartisan
report by the NSW Parliament's Standing Committee on Social Issues,
highlights the personal, social and economic costs of hepatitis C. It
emphasises the importance of supporting the principle of harm
minimisation to help control the transmission of HCV.

To say that harm minimisation strategies are "defeatist" indicates a
sad level of ignorance. It is exactly these strategies which have
made Australia a world leader in managing to contain the spread of
HIV. These strategies are starting to show an effectiveness in
slowing the spread of HCV without increasing illicit drug use.

We need a wide range of strategies to help defeat hepatitis C, and to
help defeat harmful illicit drug use. Let's stop emphasising the
things that don't work. Find the things that do work. And let's
approach the problem rationally, once more.

STUART LOVEDAY Executive officer Hepatitis C Council of
NSW

DR PAUL O'BRIEN Northern Rivers division of GPs

DR GILLIAN DEAKIN Eastern Sydney division of GPs Sydney