Cured HCV patients - Still at risk for reinfection, even by the same genotype

Michelle Long
Cure of hepatitis C (HCV) with use of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy does not protect against reinfection with the virus. In particular, patients who engage in high-risk behaviors are at relatively high risk for reinfection. If HCV is to be eliminated, we will need to ensure access to DAA therapy, including for high-risk individuals. Public health programs, including opioid-substitution therapy and mental health programs, may help abate the risk of reinfection in high-risk individuals. More data are needed to understand how to best implement programs aimed at reducing the risk of reinfection.

Previously Cured HCV Patients Can Be Reinfected
by Pippa Wysong
Contributing Writer, MedPage Today

While direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) provide a cure for the vast majority of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, patients are still at risk for reinfection, even by the same genotype.

Doctors and patients alike need to be aware that even with a cure, and even though a cured patient remains HCV antibody-positive, they are not protected against subsequent HCV infections, according to Vincent Lo Re, MD, co-director of the HIV/Viral Hepatitis Coinfection Scientific Working Group at the Penn Center for AIDS Research, Perelman School of Medicine, at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Article available @ AGA Reading Room