Hepatitis C News

An estimated 3.5 million people in the United States are living with the hepatitis C virus, and because the disease is typically asymptomatic until years after infection, more than half of those infected are unaware that they have the virus.

In May 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued its first global strategy for the elimination of viral hepatitis, including the elimination of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) as a public health concern, by the year 2030.

Upon its discovery in 1989, the only treatment for hepatitis C was interferon. Later, ribavirin was added, and patients received interferon and ribavirin for 24 to 48 weeks depending on their viral genotype.

The introduction of direct-acting antivirals was a significant step toward hepatitis C. Physicians, researchers and medical associations have continued to focus on developing methods and programs to treat as many patients with HCV as possible, especially injection drug users who have a high prevalence for transmission.

As direct-acting antivirals become more affordable, they also become accessible to more patients with hepatitis C, without treatment delays. These powerful drugs, which were once provided only to the sickest of HCV patients, are now a treatment option for HCV cases at all stages.

For patients with hepatitis C genotype 4, treatment with ravidasvir and sofosbuvir, with or without ribavirin, was safe and effective regardless of cirrhosis or previous interferon-based treatment experience.

New data showed that the VAP score — a novel noninvasive liver fibrosis staging model derived from aspartate aminotransferase, platelet count and von Willebrand factor antigen — outperformed other validated noninvasive methods among patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Patients with hepatitis C genotype 1 who achieved sustained virologic response after direct-acting antiviral treatment had significant improvement or reversal of insulin resistance, according to a recently published study.

An 8-week course of Harvoni for hepatitis C virus infection in both black and nonblack patients was a cost-effective alternative to a 12-week course, according to researchers.

Sustained virologic response after direct-acting antiviral treatment for hepatitis C significantly improved liver stiffness from baseline to end of treatment, and continued to improve liver stiffness among those with progressive fibrosis at 24 weeks posttreatment, according to recently published data.