My friend contracted hep c from tainted blood..i want to know..?

she took the interferon treatments that cocktail for a year. The doctor said it looks like its gone but it can hide in the liver is that true? What is the cure rate for hep c?

My friend contracted hep c from tainted blood..i want to know..?
There is indeed a treatment for Hep C that can result in a cure for a certain percentage of those who complete the therapy. The length of treatment and the success rate depends on the strain of Hep C a person carries.





About 20% of people who contract Hepatitis C will clear the virus spontaneously within the acute infection stage (up to 6 months after infection. For the other 80%, chronic Hep C infection.





The treament available can be very challenging to undertake and is very similar to chemotherapy for cancer patients in effects on the body. A person only really has one shot at treatment as the success rates plummett if a first attempt is discontinued or if treatment doesn't work.





The most common strain found in Canada is genotype 1 (there are 6 main genotypes 1-6 and each of those can be broken into subtypes a, b,c d, e etc.,.)





The “harder”to treat types are:


Gentoypes 1, 4, 5 and 6


Geno- 1 (most common in Canada) : 48 week course of medications


42-46 % rate success rate (virus is cleared)





The “easiest” to treat are:


Genotypes 2, 3 (less common in Canada)


24 week course of medication


76-82 % success rate (virus is cleared)





To answer your question specifically, you will have to find out what strain she has, and factor in other variables like age, average health, lifestyle etc.,.





And the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a virus whose favourite "hangout" place in the human body is the liver. That is why it is included in the Hepatitis-causing family of viruses.





To define "success" they looked at blood screening at various points throughout the treatment phase. If after a certain period of time (months/years) post treatment (definitions vary) your blood shows no evidence of the Hep C virus, then you are said to have cleared the virus (CURED).





These treatments are slowly progressing in quality and tolerability, and the treatment cocktail (ribavirin and interferon) has only been in use for a relatively short period of time. So, researchers and doctors would be incorrect to say that they know for sure the Hep C virus will never reappear in a cured patient. Enough time simply hasn't passed for this to occur . However, at the very least the natural history of HCV infection is interupted and the liver is given time (depending on amount of damage) to heal. At best, which is what everyone is hoping for, is a cure for Hepatitis C that works in a significant percentage of HCV+ patients.





(people are also not immune to reinfection so if they are continuing the behaviours that exposed them they are at risk of reinfection)
Reply:Some would have you believe that "cleared" is the same as "cured." It isn't. You got some fairly reliable information from the respondents, but it is simply to early to tell if "clearing" the virus will ultimately prove to be a cure, or a respite of several years.


Doctors love the word "cure" it implies that they have overcome this disease. They haven't. Right now it is still impossible for a HCV patient to donate blood, no matter how long they have been "clear". When that changes we'll know that a "cure" has finally been achieved, one that is recognized as such by the medical community, not just the Doctor treating the disease.
Reply:I was under the impression there isn't a cure...
Reply:no speed cure for this


its very dangerous


he need three months i guess to back to his normal again
Reply:It is true. It can hide in the liver that's why it is hard to treat. as far as I know, here is no cure at the moment.





Hep C is the most common Hep virus transmitted thru blood transfusion probably because of lack of screening test for donated blood. It can also be transmitted thru needle pricks.
Reply:there is no true curer for hep c it can hide in the liver cells and the problem is they don't know anything about it really i think the cure rate at the moment is about 70 to 80 per cent but no one knows for sure that it works long term hope you friend gets better try going to www.hepctrust.org.uk may help