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April 29, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Hepatitis C: The Insidious Spread of a Killer Virus"

Newsweek (www.newsweek.com) (04/22/02) Vol. 139, No. 16, P. 48; Cowley, Geoffrey

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has infected between 3 million and 4 million Americans, four times as many as HIV, but the public remains largely unaware of its effects or even how it is spread. Scientists only found the virus in 1988, decades after it had spread throughout the country.  Today, the chances of contracting HCV are much smaller than even 10 years ago, as the U.S. blood supply is now screened for HCV and it is not easily transmitted any other way than through blood.  Furthermore, one in six people who contract HCV are able to build up enough antibodies to destroy the virus without drugs.  Yet 20 percent develop cirrhosis, often leading to liver failure, and many more suffer from fatigue and mild depression.  Those who work with needles or use them in recreational drug abuse face the greatest danger of contracting HCV today, but anyone who received a blood transfusion before 1992 could be infected--especially hemophiliacs, nearly all of whom are infected if they were given clotting agents before the mid-1980s.  Treatments are still limited, as nearly all are a very expensive combination of interferon and ribavirin, which can either cure or do nothing, depending on the patient; however, for those in whom symptoms have yet to appear, watching and waiting is often the best prescription, rather than facing an arduous year-long regimen that can sap the strength and cause depression for a questionable benefit.

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.