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: Objective: The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in correctional facilities in Australia among people who inject drugs is 60%, with disproportionate effects observed in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Following the micro‐elimination of HCV in a Queensland correctional facility (QCF), newly acquired cases began to increase in mid‐2019. Here we discuss the public health response to increasing HCV in a QCF. Methods: Enhanced surveillance was performed to obtain contextual outbreak data on risk factors including injecting drug use, sharing of personal hygiene equipment and do‐it‐yourself‐tattooing. Results: In the sixteen months, there were 250 notifications of new and re‐infected HCV infections in prisoners in the QCF. Qualitative data revealed the leading factor in transmission to be injecting drug use. Conclusions: Drivers for increased HCV transmission in correctional facilities include boredom, waiting lists for opioid substitution programs, changes in injecting behaviours and sharing of injecting paraphernalia. Point‐of‐care testing combined with education and the development of a needle and syringe program may be promising ways forward for managing HCV in correctional facilities. Implications for public health: Correctional facilities are key locations to target sexually transmitted infection (STI) and blood‐borne virus (BBV) testing and treatment as well as health promotion to improve the health of inmates and the communities they return to., In 2018, there was successful micro‐elimination of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in a Queensland Correctional Facility (QCF) population following rapid scale‐up of direct‐acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for men with chronic [...]

: Objective: Examine the changes in service delivery Australian public sexual health clinics made to remain open during lockdown. Methods: A cross‐sectional survey designed and delivered on Qualtrics was emailed to 21 directors of public sexual health clinics across Australia from July‐August 2020 and asked about a variety of changes to service delivery. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Results: Twenty clinics participated, all remained open and reported service changes, including suspension of walk‐in services in eight clinics. Some clinics stopped offering asymptomatic screening for varying patient populations. Most clinics transitioned to a mix of telehealth and face‐to‐face consultations. Nineteen clinics reported delays in testing and 13 reported limitations in testing. Most clinics changed to phone consultations for HIV medication refills (n=15) and eleven clinics prescribed longer repeat prescriptions. Fourteen clinics had staff redeployed to assist the COVID‐19 response. Conclusion: Public sexual health clinics pivoted service delivery to reduce risk of COVID‐19 transmission in clinical settings, managed staffing reductions and delays in molecular testing, and maintained a focus on urgent and symptomatic STI presentations and those at higher risk of HIV/STI acquisition. Implications for public health: Further research is warranted to understand what impact reduced asymptomatic screening may have had on community STI transmission., In response to the COVID‐19 pandemic, Australia went into a nationwide lockdown that began on 22 March 2020 with stage one restrictions. These initial restrictions included closing non‐essential businesses as [...]

The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off – Gloria Steinem[sup.1] Women live longer than men, however, despite this, women experience poorer health outcomes including [...]