Vaccination

So far there is no approved vaccination against the Hepatitis C virus. The only protection against infection with the virus is to avoid blood-blood contact with hepatitis C infected persons. In addition, there are no measures to prevent infection after possible contact with the pathogen (post-exposure prophylaxis).

However, a lot of research has been done in recent years with regard to a possible hepatitis C vaccination. The study situation is currently in the first phase, whereby the two-part vaccination has probably had good success so far, i.e. strong immune responses against the virus. Although research has been going on for a long time to develop a vaccine against Hepatitis C, no vaccine has yet been brought to market. The Hepatitis C virus is genetically relatively variable and reacts flexibly to the human immune system, so finding a suitable vaccine is challenging.

Is hepatitis C curable?

A combination therapy with pegylated interferon alpha, ribavirin and optionally a protease inhibitor can cure the majority of hepatitis C infected patients. Depending on the subtype of the virus (genotypes 2 and 3 have a more favorable prognosis, while types 1 and 4 require a longer therapy and still have a lower chance of cure) and on how early the infection was detected and the therapy initiated, but above all depending on the patient’s other condition (age, other diseases), the chances of cure vary greatly. In the worst case, they may be less than 40%, in the most favorable case, however, they may be over 80%. In summary, it can be said that, under the current state of research, an absolute cure for hepatitis C is possible, even probable, but cannot be guaranteed.

What is the life expectancy?

It is difficult to predict life expectancy in hepatitis C. About a quarter of all infections are acute and cause symptoms, in many cases the disease is mild and heals easily, but in some cases patients are seriously ill and may die of liver failure. The other three quarters of hepatitis C infections are chronic and do not initially cause symptoms. This can then develop into liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. The course of a chronic hepatitis C infection is difficult to predict because the increase in liver values allows only limited conclusions to be drawn about the extent of the structural changes and damage to the liver.