WEBCLIP: TB patient co-infected with hepatitis C benefits from new DAAs (INT)

Treatment for hepatitis C has vastly improved with the new and highly effective Direct Acting Antivirals (DAAs).
They are much less toxic which means that patients co-infected with tuberculosis and hepatitis C do not have to interrupt their vital TB treatment.
Hakobyn is the first MSF patient in Armenia to have benefited from these new drugs.

MSF197111

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WEBCLIP: TB patient co-infected with hepatitis C benefits from new DAAs (ENG)

Subt. English

VIDEO: Patient coinfected with TB and Hepatitis C beneifts from new DAAs

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Unique Identifier Code / URN MSF197111

Date taken / Date Recorded 26/04/2017 12:00 AM

Country Armenia

Commissioning section MSF-FRANCE

Photographer / videographer / producer Simon Rolin

Usage Rights (MSF) MSF Fundraising, MSF Publications, Social Media

Formal Consent Copy available no

Editor's rating ★★★★★ (C)

Video format h264 (Constrained Baseline) (avc1 / 0x31637661)

Duration 2m50s

Maximum Size 1920px × 1080px 291.60 MB

Additional Information / Shotlist Hakobyan, TB/Hep C patient
My name’s Hakobyan Andranik, I’m 58 years old.
I live here in Gyumri, it’s where I was born.
I’ve got drug-resistant TB
which is why I’m given intravenous infusions of Imipenem every morning and evening,
I’ve been on treatment for 16 months now.

(TEXTE A L’ECRAN)
Hakobyan has a form of tuberculosis resistant to the main TB drugs.
Despite the new drugs available, multidrug-resistant TB remains difficult to treat.

Patient
When you’re on TB treatment, they monitor your heart, your liver and other parts of your body. They found out I had hepatitis C when they were doing a liver scan.

Hakob Atshemyan, médecin MSF (in English)
We know that some TB drugs have a negative impact on the liver. And the same thing we can say about hepatitis C virus.
We have patients for whom we had to stop TB treatment because of liver toxicity of TB drugs.

(TEXTE A L’ECRAN)
Treatment for hepatitis C has vastly improved with the new and highly effective Direct Acting Antivirals (DAAs).
They are much less toxic which means that patients co-infected with tuberculosis and hepatitis C do not have to interrupt their vital TB treatment.
Hakobyn is the first MSF patient in Armenia to have benefited from these new drugs.

Patient
I took the pills at 9 o’clock every day.
One of the pills was star-shaped, the other one was oval.
They told me the treatment would take 90 days.

Hakob Atshemyan, doctor, MSF (in English)
The patients who receive hepatitis C treatment in combination with TB treatment are examined and followed up. But til this moment we haven’t found any serious problem with this.

Patient
I take all these drugs but continue to work. As you saw yourself, I can’t stay idle.
And given that my house is run down, there’s always something to do.
I’m active all day long.

When Hakobyn was tested, after 3 months of the new treatment, hepatitis C virus was no longer detected.
A second test will confirm he is cured. Meanwhile, he continues his battle against TB

Patient
I know there should not be any interruptions, that the drugs need to be taken regularly. I’m disciplined about taking my treatment.

Hakob Atshemyan, doctor, MSF (in English)
The likelihood that this patient will be classified as cured in the future is very high. And we hope that his hepatitis C is cured and we will not have any factor which will disturb us to continue his TB treatment.

Patient
I hope to live longer. If I am cured, I will be able to live longer.

Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis