CHECK Berlin / Brandenburg #5

ENGLISH
SEXUAL HEALTH
HEPATITIS C
Don‘t be afraid of treatment
Even if in Germany M*SM* (men* who have sex with men*) are not among the
group most severely affected by new hepatitis C infections, a high proportion
of HCV reinfections can be observed after successful therapy. These can
mostly be explained by injurious sexual practices and drug use, particularly
methamphetamine.
Foto: joyfotoliakid_stock.adobe.com
Until 2014 only combination therapies with
pegylated interferon alpha (peg-IFN α) and
ribavirin were available to treat Hepatitis C.
The healing rates were only around 50% and
therapy could sometimes lead to severe physical
and psychological side effects, causing
many to discontinue treatment.
With the introduction of modern, direct antiviral
therapies in 2014, interferon therapies no
longer play a role. In the treatment of hepatitis
C, the development of potent DAA regimes
(Direct-Acting Antiviral Agents) has in fact
made revolutionary progress in recent years.
In particular, the high effectiveness, the good
tolerability and the short duration of treatment,
usually 8–12 weeks, have contributed to
the fact that it is now possible to cure almost
all HCV patients with cure rates of over 95%.
Consequential complications of hepatitis C,
such as progressive liver damage and possible
liver cancer, are thus prevented. Oral ingestion
is uncomplicated, with some therapies only
needing one tablet per day to be taken, sometimes
independently of meals.
98 CHECK BERLIN/BRANDENBURG #5