AEGiS-ATDN: Treatment Notes: Hepatitis C in Opportunistic Infection Guidelines

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Treatment Notes: Hepatitis C in Opportunistic Infection Guidelines

TREATMENT REVIEW 32 - 33 - Fall/Winter 2000

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a recently discovered virus that can cause liver problems. HCV is most commonly transmitted through sharing contaminated needles. Transmission of HCV through unsafe sex is thought to be much more rare. Many people with HIV are also HCV co-infected. The government now includes HCV as part of their HIV-related opportunistic infection prevention guidelines, noting that people with both HIV and HCV may experience more side effects and symptoms from anti-HIV drugs than people with HIV who are not HCV-infected. The immune system of some HCV-infected people (about 1 in 6 according to studies) is able to completely control the virus. In most other cases, the immune system limits HCV replication but doesn't completely control the virus. As a result, some people with hepatitis C develop low-level liver damage that slowly gets worse. Severe illness occurs if the liver becomes badly scarred and damaged, a condition called cirrhosis of the liver. Symptoms of cirrhosis are: bleeding in the throat and vomiting, itching, a yellow skin condition called jaundice, build up of fluid in the abdomen, and liver cancer. HCV infection is now the most common cause of liver cancer in the U.S.

The Guidelines for the Prevention of Opportunistic Infections in Persons Infected with HIV are produced by the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) and Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). The most recent guidelines, released in 1999, can be downloaded free of charge from the Internet at: http://www.hivatis.org/guidelines/opport899.pdf

There are both approved and experimental treatments for HCV, including new formulations of alfa interferon called Pegasys or Peg-Intron. For more information call The Network at (800) 734-7104.
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