Antiviral medicines can cure more than 95% of persons with hepatitis C infection, thereby reducing the risk of death from liver cancer and cirrhosis. There is currently no vaccine for hepatitis C.
Antiviral medicines can cure more than 95% of persons with hepatitis C infection, thereby reducing the risk of death from liver cancer and cirrhosis. There is currently no vaccine for hepatitis C.
If the HCV-infection is not spontaneously cured, treatment for HCV should be started. The goal of hepatitis C treatment is cure. The cure rate depends on several factors including the strain of the virus and the type of treatment given. The standard of care for hepatitis C is changing rapidly. Direct-acting antivirals (DAA) can achieve cure rates above 95%. These medicines are much more effective, safer and better-tolerated than the older therapies. Therapy with DAAs can cure most persons with HCV infection and treatment is shorter (usually 12 weeks) than previously available treatments. Although the production cost of DAAs is low, these medicines remain very expensive in many high- and middle-income countries. Prices have dropped dramatically in some countries (primarily low-income) due to the introduction of generic versions of these medicines.
Access to HCV treatment is improving, but remains limited.
