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Hepatitis C and injecting networks

The Networks 2 project was a collaborative project that brought together qualitative and quantitative epidemiologists, social network modellers, virologists and immunologists in order to study the transmission and natural history of the hepatitis C virus in a social network of young people who inject drugs.

The aim of this project was to identify behavioural, social, genetic and other biological factors associated with hepatitis C transmission and progression to chronic hepatitis C.

2005-2006

Project participants were recruited from street illicit drug markets in Melbourne in 2005-2006 and followed over time. At approximately three month intervals, we conducted interviews with participants and collected blood samples. The interviews were designed to collect information about participants' risk behaviour and social connects with other people who inject drugs. The blood samples were used to test for hepatitis C and other blood-borne viruses (hepatitis B and HIV), as well as genetic and immunological markers. In combination with traditional statistical methods, social network and other mathematical models were used to analyse the data at a population level. Qualitative interviews were used to explore social and behavioural issues in more detail.

Professor Margaret Hellard AM

Please contact Professor Margaret Hellard AM for more information about this project.

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Funding
Partners

  • Colonial Foundation Trust
  • National Health and Medical Research Council (545891, 1126090, 2019034)

Partners +
Collaborators

  • David Scott Bowden and Lilly Tracy, Victorian Infectious Diseases Laboratory
  • Philippa Pattison, Garry Robins, David Rolls and Galina Daraganova, The University of Melbourne
  • Mandvi Bharadwaj

Project
Team

Meet the project team. Together, we are translating research into better health, for all.

Doctor Campbell Aitken

RESEARCH FELLOW

Campbell joined the Burnet Institute in 1995. Since that time he has conducted research...

Professor Heidi Drummer

SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR FOR RESEARCH TRANSLATION; SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR, BURNET DIAGNOSTICS INITIATIVE; PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR, BURNET VACCINE INITIATIVE; CO-HEAD, VIRAL ENTRY AND VACCINES GROUP

Professor Heidi Drummer is Scientific Director for Research Translation and co-Head of the Viral Ent...

Professor Margaret Hellard AM

DEPUTY DIRECTOR, PROGRAMS; ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, MONASH UNIVERSITY, DEPM.

For almost two decades Margaret's work has centred around infectious diseases, preventing...

Associate Professor Peter Higgs

PRINCIPAL RESEARCH FELLOW; HONORARY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH, LA TROBE UNIVERSITY

Peter has a background in community development and has worked with marginalised populations...

Doctor Rachel Sacks-Davis

SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW

Dr Rachel Sacks-Davis is a Senior Research Fellow at the Burnet Institute in the...

Publications

VIEW ALL RESEARCH
Antigen-driven patterns of TCR bias are shared across diverse outcomes of human hepatitis C virus infection.

Miles JJ, Thammanichanond D, Moneer S, Nivarthi UK, Kjer-Nielsen L, Tracy SL, Aitken CK, Brennan RM, Zeng W, Marquart L, Jackson D, Burrows SR, Bowden DS, Torresi J, Hellard M, Rossjohn J, McCluskey J, Bharadwaj M

  • Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)
  • 15 Dec 2010
TCD8 response in diverse outcomes of recurrent exposure to hepatitis C virus.

Bharadwaj M, Thammanichanond D, Aitken CK, Moneer S, Drummer HE, Tracy S, Holdsworth R, Bowden S, Jackson D, Hellard M, Torresi J, McCluskey J

  • Immunology and cell biology
  • 12 May 2009
Heroin-gel capsule cocktails and groin injecting practices among ethnic Vietnamese in Melbourne, Australia.

Higgs P, Dwyer R, Duong D, Thach ML, Hellard M, Power R, Maher L

  • The International journal on drug policy
  • 01 Oct 2008
Markers and risk factors for HCV, HBV and HIV in a network of injecting drug users in Melbourne, Australia.

Miller ER, Hellard ME, Bowden S, Bharadwaj M, Aitken CK

  • The Journal of infection
  • 27 Mar 2009
High incidence of hepatitis C virus reinfection in a cohort of injecting drug users.

Aitken CK, Lewis J, Tracy SL, Spelman T, Bowden DS, Bharadwaj M, Drummer H, Hellard M

  • Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.)
  • 12 Jan 2009
Gender, culture and harm: an exploratory study of female heroin users of Vietnamese ethnicity.

Higgs P, Owada K, Hellard M, Power R, Maher L

  • Culture, health & sexuality
  • 31 Dec 2008
Fiber-modified recombinant adenoviral constructs encoding hepatitis C virus proteins induce potent HCV-specific T cell response.

Thammanichanond D, Moneer S, Yotnda P, Aitken C, Earnest-Silveira L, Jackson D, Hellard M, McCluskey J, Torresi J, Bharadwaj M

  • Clinical immunology (Orlando, Fla.)
  • 03 Jun 2008
Consecutive infections and clearances of different hepatitis C virus genotypes in an injecting drug user.

Aitken CK, Tracy SL, Revill P, Bharadwaj M, Bowden DS, Winter RJ, Hellard ME

  • Journal of clinical virology : the official publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology
  • 01 Feb 2008
Integrating enhanced hepatitis C testing and counselling in research.

Winter R, Nguyen O, Higgs P, Armstrong S, Duong D, Thach ML, Aitken C, Hellard M

  • The International journal on drug policy
  • 20 Jun 2007
Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis C virus in a social network of injection drug users.

Aitken CK, McCaw RF, Bowden DS, Tracy SL, Kelsall JG, Higgs PG, Kerger MJ, Nguyen H, Crofts JN

  • The Journal of infectious diseases
  • 23 Sep 2004