Hepatitis C Cure Rate

Hepatitis C is a serious and life-threatening blood-borne viral pathogen that attacks the liver. A person can be exposed to hepatitis in a variety of ways that involve contact with the blood of an infected person. Hepatitis C is particularly dangerous as it often does not cause noticeable symptoms until liver damage has already occurred. Ironically, the cure rate for hepatitis C is highest when hepatitis C symptoms are minimal or non-existent. Therefore it is important to see a physician immediately if you are at risk for having contracted hepatitis C.

About Hepatitis C

• There are three strands of hepatitis virus: hepatitis A, B and C. Hepatitis A and B often do not require treatment and cause little or no lasting negative effects on the body. The most dangerous form of hepatitis is hepatitis C. As of 2009, hepatitis C has no vaccine and the cure rate is directly related to how quickly the virus is discovered. Treatment of hepatitis C is compounded by the fact that the effect hepatitis C has on the body, particularly the liver, is usually irreversible. Hepatitis C viciously attacks the liver of an infected person and can lead to severe liver scarring (cirrhosis) and ultimately death.

How Hepatitis Is Transmitted

• Hepatitis C is spread by contact with the blood of an infected person. A person may unknowingly contract hepatitis C by being tattooed with unsterilized needles and equipment. Health-care workers may be exposed to hepatitis C by blood spray, splatter or accidental finger sticks from infected needles. Hepatitis C is also rampant in the illicit drug community, where tainted needles may be shared between multiple persons. Hepatitis C is normally not transmitted sexually, however if sexual contact involves exposure to blood it may be transmitted in this way.

Initial Infection

• Within six months of infection, a person may develop cold or flu-like side effects such as nausea, headache, muscle pain, fatigue or weakness. Because these symptoms are so similar to a cold or flu and do not persist, persons often do not seek treatment. However, hepatitis C is most successfully treated in the first six months after infection, as blood viral levels are still low and significant liver damage has not occurred. A study of 3,070 Americans conducted by John Hopkins University and published in September 2009 by researcher David March showed "that in infected people who began either of two standard combination drug therapies during early or less advanced stages of hepatitis C liver disease, treatment success rates were 40 percent to 43 percent."

The First 10 Years

• Over the first 10 years of contracting hepatitis C, even without treatment, a person may notice few if any ill effects. In some cases individuals may experience intermittent pain in the area of the liver. This liver pain may be either localized or dull in nature. The pain hepatitis C patients experience is a direct result of the virus attacking the liver and subsequent formation of scar tissue. Other intermittent symptoms include loss of appetite, a rash on the palms, unexplained weight loss and weakness. Individuals who see a physician and are diagnosed with hepatitis C can still avoid life-threatening complications during this time period if damage to the liver has not been severe. The John's Hopkins study further concluded that among those in the with stage 3 or stage 4 liver disease, the treatment success rate dropped to between 20 and 23 percent.

Twenty To 30 Years

• It is during this point, some two to three decades after infection, when the effects of hepatitis C become most pronounced. Cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver may be nearly complete and the liver will have greatly reduced capacity to function. Persons diagnosed during this stage often have significant liver pain and may have early to mid-stage liver failure. In addition to being treated with anti-viral medications, persons with advanced hepatitis C often require a liver transplant. Even if the virus is successfully treated an advanced hepatitis C patient still faces significant mortality risk from liver failure. There is also the risk that the scar tissue caused by advanced hepatitis C may become cancerous.

Life Expectancy/Mortality

• The life expectancy for persons with hepatitis C is unclear. According to a life expectancy statement from the National Hepatitis Coalition, this is because the disease effects each person differently. Some people will have significant liver damage and others less so. Furthermore, some people will be more or less responsive to treatment. However, among those who have significant scarring of the liver, 25 percent go on to develop liver cancer or liver failure as a direct result of hepatitis infection. Therefore, it is highly important to see a physician immediately if there is the possibility of exposure to hepatitis C, or if symptoms point to a possible hepatitis C infection.

Treatment

• Hepatitis C is treated with one of two combination drug therapies, peginterferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin, or peginterferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin. According to the study conducted by Johns Hopkins, the treatment success rate for both drugs is nearly equal at 39.8 percent and 40.9 percent, respectively. However, long-term cure rates varied greatly. The study found that, "...a patient's likelihood of success after taking either antiviral medication was highly predictable, even within 30 days, based on the magnitude of viral decline. Approximately 90 percent of patients were cured if virus levels in the blood were suppressed to below detection within a month, whereas patients who took from three to six months to achieve viral suppression had higher rates of viral rebound (of between 30 percent and 50 percent.)" In summation, of the 40 percent who respond to treatment, 90 percent of patients are permanently cured if the virus is detected early. Those patients with more advanced disease who took longer to respond to treatment had significantly lower (30 percent to 50 percent) long-term cure rates.