From the Research
There is currently no vaccine available for hepatitis C, and prevention relies on screening high-risk individuals and treating those who are infected with direct-acting antiviral medications. The primary approach to hepatitis C is screening high-risk individuals, such as those between 18 and 39 years of age and those who use injection drugs, and treating those who are infected with direct-acting antiviral medications, such as combinations like sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (Epclusa), glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (Mavyret), or ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (Harvoni) 1. These medications have cure rates exceeding 95% with treatment courses typically lasting 8-12 weeks.
Some key points to consider in the management of hepatitis C include:
- Screening recommendations, which include universal screening with an anti-HCV antibody test with follow-up reflex HCV RNA polymerase chain reaction testing for positive results to confirm active disease, at least once for all adults 18 years and older and during each pregnancy 1
- Treatment guidelines, which recommend a simplified treatment regimen consisting of eight weeks of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir or 12 weeks of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir for treatment-naive adults without cirrhosis or with compensated cirrhosis 1
- The importance of preventing blood exposure through practices like not sharing needles, ensuring sterile medical equipment, and screening blood donations
- The challenges in developing a hepatitis C vaccine due to the virus's high genetic variability and ability to mutate rapidly, which allows it to evade immune responses 2
Overall, the management of hepatitis C requires a comprehensive approach that includes screening, treatment, and prevention of blood exposure, and the use of direct-acting antiviral medications is the most effective way to cure the infection and improve patient outcomes 3.