High prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection and low level of awareness among people who recently started injecting drugs in a cross-sectional study in Germany, 2011–2014: missed opportunities for hepatitis C testing

Background In Germany, risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is highest among people who inject drugs (PWID). New injectors (NI) are particularly vulnerable for HCV-acquisition, but little is known about health seeking behaviour and opportunities for intervention in this group. We describe characteristics, HCV prevalence, estimated HCV incidence and awareness of HCV-status among NIs and missed opportunities for hepatitis C testing.