However, there are unfortunate individuals who do progress more rapidly. Several drug therapies for HCV are in various stages of development. Currently, the only licensed therapy is alpha interferon. Alpha interferon has been shown to interrupt the progression of chronic hepatitis in selected patients and in a minority of these, HCV carriage seems to be eliminated. Naturally, anyone with a chronic infection dreams of being cured and pressure from patients for treatment can be intense.
Many questions remain.
Once again, more research is needed to answer these pressing questions. Interferon therapy is currently only recommended for those with persistently abnormal liver function tests, positive HCV RNA tests and chronic hepatitis on biopsy. Flu-like symptoms frequently accompany interferon therapy although they become less troublesome with time. Referral to a specialist centre is definitely recommended. Many viruses display considerable genetic variability from isolate to isolate and HCV is no exception.