[Treatment of viral hepatitis C]

Viral hepatitis C is a serious public health problem in France by the number of infected patients, the evolutive profile and by the lack of fully efficient therapeutics. However, the risk of developing cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma may not be so high as it has been stated until now. Interferon alpha is at the present time, the only approved drug for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Its efficiency on criteria such as normalization of aminotransferases values or negativation of viremia is obtained in less than 25% of patients. The present recommendation is to use 3 MU of interferon alpha, 3 times per week during 12 months. While interferon leads to improvement of histologic lesions, it is not yet proved that a treatment by interferon can reduce, years after, the incidence of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. No therapeutic strategy has been defined yet for the frequent situations of "no response", relapses or presence of factors that reduce the efficacy of treatment (high initial viremia level, genotype 1b, cirrhosis). It is possible that the course of patients having low or no elevation of aminotransferases and/or minimal histologic lesions, is good without any treatment. The efficacy of interferon alone appears insufficient. Thus trials in progress concern associations of antiviral drugs such as vidarabine. In lack of vaccine, preventive treatment is essential and depends upon knowledge of conditions of transmission of the virus. Transmission through blood and intravenous drug addiction represent 60 to 70% of cases of hepatitis C.