title: Dynamic modelling of hepatitis C virus transmission among people who inject drugs: a methodological review.
abstract: Equipment sharing among people who inject drugs (PWID) is a key risk factor in infection by hepatitis C virus (HCV). Both the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing HCV transmission in this population (such as opioid substitution therapy, needle exchange programmes or improved treatment) are difficult to evaluate using field surveys. Ethical issues and complicated access to the PWID population make it difficult to gather epidemiological data. In this context, mathematical modelling of HCV transmission is a useful alternative for comparing the cost and effectiveness of various interventions. Several models have been developed in the past few years. They are often based on strong hypotheses concerning the population structure. This review presents compartmental and individual-based models to underline their strengths and limits in the context of HCV infection among PWID. The final section discusses the main results of the papers.
authors.affiliation: IAME, UMR 1137, INSERM, Paris, France; IAME, UMR 1137, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Univ Paris Diderot, Paris, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cousien
authors.forename: V C
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deuffic-Burban
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jauffret-Roustide
authors.forename: J-S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Dhersin
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yazdanpanah
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D055030:Drug Users; D016174:Hepacivirus; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents
keywords: antiviral treatment; dynamic modelling; harm reduction policies; hepatitis C; injecting drug users