Alarming trend -- antiviral therapy to treat hepatitis C is declining in the US

Researchers from the University of Michigan determined that only 663,000 of the approximately 3.9 million Americans with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection received antiviral therapy between 2002 and 2007. Treatment rates appear to be declining, in part because only half of the patients know they are infected. If this disturbing trend continues, by 2030 less than 15% of liver-related deaths from HCV will be prevented by antiviral therapy. This study, the first to analyze nationwide practice patterns for HCV treatment, is published in the December issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

HCV is a common blood-borne...

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