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Study touts cure for hepatitis C

Infection Control Monitor, May 25, 2007

Use of the drug peginterferon, either alone or in combination with the drug ribavirin, is a potential "cure" for hepatitis C, according to researchers.

The findings were presented this week at the 38th annual Digestive Disease Week conference, in Washington, D.C. In the study, 997 patients with hepatitis C or with both hepatitis C and HIV were treated with the drug and then monitored for an average of 4.1 years, and as long as seven years,  reported HealthDay News.

The researchers found that 99% of patients had no detectable virus for more than five years. "This is the first long-term study that confirms what we believed for many years that these individuals are truly cured of hepatitis C," said lead researcher Dr. Mitchell Shiffman, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and chief of hepatology and medical director of the school's Liver Transplant Program.

Hepatitis C is the leading cause of cirrhosis, liver cancer, and the need for liver transplants in the United States.

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