PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Khulood Ahmed
AU  - Ashraf Almashhrawi
AU  - Jamal A. Ibdah
AU  - Veysel Tahan
TI  - Is the 25 year hepatitis C marathon coming to an end to declare victory?
AID  - 10.1101/115378
DP  - 2017 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 115378
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/03/09/115378.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/03/09/115378.full
AB  - Hepatitis C virus (HCV) which was originally recognized as posttransfusion non-A, non-B hepatitis has been a major global health problem affecting 3% of the world population. Interferon/peginterferon and ribavirin combination therapy was the backbone of chronic HCV therapy for two decades of the journey. However, interferon based treatment success rate was around 50% with many side effects. Many chronic HCV patients with psychiatric diseases or even cytopenias were ineligible for HCV treatment. Now we no longer need any injectable medicine. New direct-acting antiviral agents against HCV allowed the advance of interferon-free and ribavirin-free oral regimens with high rates of response and tolerability. The cost of the medications should not be a barrier to their access in certain parts of the world. While we are getting closer, we should still focus on preventing the spread of the disease, screening and delivering the cure to those in need globally. In the near future, development of an effective vaccine against HCV would make it possible to eradicate HCV infection worldwide completely.