Western Uusimaa to bolster hepatitis C research and treatment
The Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County has received approximately €0.9 million in state funding from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health for projects that promote the elimination of hepatitis C. The aim is to increase testing, facilitate access to treatment and better reach at-risk groups. Services will also be delivered through mobile units in places people already visit.
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne viral infection that causes inflammation of the liver. Some of those infected recover on their own, but in other cases the infection becomes chronic. Prolonged infection can damage the liver and increase the risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Hepatitis C infections are diagnosed every year in Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County. According to the National Infectious Diseases Register, the number of detected infections in our wellbeing services county is among the highest in the country, and likewise, the number of clients at health advice and support centres for people who use drugs was among the highest in Finland in 2023.
The projects aim to prevent new infections, reduce the health harms caused by the disease and facilitate access to testing and treatment.
Bringing services closer to clients
Many people in the hepatitis C at-risk groups do not readily seek healthcare, and therefore we have decided to bring services to places where people already go.
We provide testing and treatment, for example, at mental health and substance abuse service units as well as in residential service units. In early summer, we will also deploy two mobile units to enable testing across the wellbeing services county.
The aim of the mobile units is to reach, in particular, people who currently inject drugs or have injected in the past. Injection drug use is the most common source of hepatitis C infection in Finland, as the virus is easily transmitted through blood, for example through shared injecting equipment.
Expanded testing and earlier treatment
During the project period, we will introduce point-of-care tests that allow hepatitis C to be detected rapidly from a finger‑prick blood sample. During the same visit, the condition of the liver can be assessed using a FibroScan device.
When testing is easy and results are available quickly, treatment can be started sooner.
“In parallel, we are developing a unified care pathway for the entire wellbeing services county. Our goal is for treatment to start quickly after testing, as close to clients’ everyday lives as possible,” says Project Manager Sinikka Peromaa.
Treatment planning can be done, for example, at a health advice and support centre, in a residential service unit or in another service the client already uses. This facilitates adherence to treatment and reduces the risk of treatment interruptions.
First phase launched in Espoo
The first phase of the projects started in Espoo, at the Linkki health advice and support centre in Leppävaara, co-located with the day centre Illusia. Point-of-care testing began there in December 2025.
“In the first phase, more than 80 clients in at-risk groups have already been reached for testing – people who previously could not be tested or treated elsewhere in healthcare,” Peromaa says.
The projects also involve collaboration with the City of Helsinki and the Vantaa–Kerava Wellbeing Services County on their corresponding projects. This collaboration helps reduce hepatitis C infections across the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.
In the next phase, we will roll out the testing and treatment model across all Western Uusimaa using mobile units.
The projects are funded by the government until 30 June 2027.
More information:
Sinikka Peromaa
Mental health and substance abuse services, project manager
sinikka.peromaa@luvn.fi, tel. 040 520 1692