Blood Borne Viruses and Pharmacy: How effective is the Needle and Syringe Program?

Krista Zohrab
Clinical Nurse Consultant at Lismore Liver Clinic

Krista is a clinical nurse consultat at Lismore Liver Clinic, a nurse led viral hepatitis treatment centre in downtown Lismore. Krista has over 25 years experience as a RN but has found her passion in working within the Blood Borne Virus field, particularly focusing on hepatitis treatment and management.

Krista’s experience includes training at the Sydney Sexual Health Clinic and Long Bay Correctional Centre.

In 2004 Krista accepted a traineeship position at Sydney Sexual Health Clinic where she honed her sexual health and blood borne virus skills. After this she worked for nearly 5 years at Long Bay Correctional Centre in Sydney which is where she developed her love for viral hepatitis. Due to the sheer volume of hepatitis C cases in custody she was fortunate to receive excellent training in management of viral hepatitis. She found she loved working with the more vulnerable people in our population.

Since working at LLC Hepatitis C treatment has evolved considerably and Krista has been thrilled to be part of the huge evolution from interferon based treatment to the new direct acting antivirals for hepatitis C. Some of the challenges include linking HCV-positive patients into care and managing the huge increase in patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) due to cirrhosis. Krista has a strong professional relationship with staff at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, the primary location where all HCC treatments occur.