Even if you don't meet any of these criteria, you may still be among those who unknowingly caught the virus another way, and may still wish to be tested. It's also important to get screened even if you don't think you have any symptoms, he stresses. Hepatitis C's warning signs are often vague, and don't appear in everyone who carries the virus. If you do find out you have hepatitis C, there are several options to treat the disease. Injections of interferon, which boosts the immune system, can be combined with the antiviral drug ribaviran to put many patients into remission.
More treatments are on the way.
The U-M is taking part in a clinical trial to compare two hepatitis C treatments for patients who have just begun treatment, and soon will become one of only nine centers studying a treatment for chronic hepatitis C that does not respond to other therapies. Though not everyone who has the virus in their body will experience liver failure and need a transplant, the number is large enough that it may make the existing shortage of donor organs even worse, Askari says. Research continues on how best to prevent hepatitis C infection and liver problems that come from it. At the U-M, this includes work on how best to vaccinate against the virus, which many change from year to year like influenza. Askari and others at the U-M are studying substances called adjuvants, which could be administered along with a vaccine to help the immune system.