Hepatitis C: A Curable Disease Today
Direct-acting antivirals cure over 95% of patients.
Dr. Yann Beaumont
Gastroenterologist
Blood-borne: injection drug use, unsterile medical equipment historically, vertical transmission rare. Sexual transmission is uncommon outside specific contexts.
Often silent
Most chronic infections cause no symptoms for decades, but slowly progress to fibrosis and cirrhosis.
Treatment
Pangenotypic regimens (sofosbuvir/velpatasvir, glecaprevir/pibrentasvir) cure 95-99% of patients with 8-12 weeks of oral therapy and few side effects.
Eradication
Test once at least in any adult; one cure removes a major future cancer and liver-failure risk.
Cure does not erase fibrosis fully: monitoring continues if cirrhosis was present before treatment.
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