Hepatitis C is a very serious infection which as stated by MayoClinic.com is caused by a virus that attacks the liver and leads to inflammation. The majority of people infected with the hepatitis C virus have no symptoms. Hepatitis C is passed primarily through contact with contaminated blood, most commonly through needles shared during illegal drug use. Michael Smith has reported for MedPage Today "Hepatitis C Bigger Killer than HIV."
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported that more Americans now die from hepatitis C infection than from HIV. Kathleen Ly, MPH, and colleagues have written that the rate of HIV deaths has been falling while the rate for hepatitis C has been rising. and the two curves crossed each other in 2007. They say their research shows in that year 12,734 deaths were blamed on HIV, compared with 15,106 attributed to hepatitis C.
Ly and colleagues have gone on to argue the figures probably represent "only a fraction of a larger burden of morbidity and mortality from viral hepatitis." And they have noted that chronic hepatitis infection, both B and C, is most prevalent among people who were born from 1945 through 1965. Most people with the disease do not know they are infected and they are now reaching the age where they are at risk for hepatitis-related diseases and death, the researchers noted. Furthermore, they commented viral hepatitis was often not detected and thus not reported as a cause of death.
The treatment picture for hepatitis C has been changing dramatically, as a range of new direct-acting agents is approved. Prior to 1990, HCV infection had only a 10% cure rate with early interferon monotherapy. Than in 2011, HCV-specific protease inhibitors combined with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, were found to achieve close to 70% sustained virologic response rates for patients with genotype 1 infections. Harvey Alter, MD, and Jake Liang, MD, both of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland have said within five years, it may be possible to achieve 90% cure rates using combinations of the new agents.
