[Treatment of hepatitis C]

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects approximately 3 % of the global population and represents a major public health problem worldwide. Treatment of chronic hepatitis C is based on the combination of pegylated interferon alpha (PEG IFN) with ribavirin. With this treatment, sustained virological response is obtained in around 80% of patients infected with HCV genotype 2 or 3 and 50% of patients infected with HCV genotype 1. The most frequent adverse events are the flu-like syndrome and psychiatric disorders for PEG IFN, and anaemia for ribavirin; they need a careful follow-up. Determination of viral load and genotype is essential for the indication of therapy and the follow-up during treatment. Patients infected with HCV genotype 2 or 3 should be treated for 24 weeks. In patients infected with HCV genotype 1, a decrease in viral load by 2 log after 12 weeks of treatment (early virological response) is needed to take the decision to continue treatment, for a total duration of 48 weeks. A poor response to treatment is associated with host factors (age, alcohol consumption, cirrhosis) and viral factors (genotype 1, high viral load, co-infection with HBV or HIV). New therapeutic approaches should be based on the combination of PEG IFN and specific inhibitors of HCV replication to increase the rate of sustained response.