C alone. Another study found that the rate of hepatic carcinomas in co-infected patients was four times that of patients who had hepatitis C alone. Several studies have demonstrated that the hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses interact with each other in the body, and so can affect immune responses. Being infected with hepatitis C can suppress the replication of the hepatitis B virus, and the reverse is also true. It is even possible for each virus to inhibit the other simultaneously, or to alternate which inhibits the other. It is important to remember that this does not mean that the inhibited virus is gone from the body. Instead, its effects may be hidden or halted until the other virus is treated, and then may flare up again. This means that a doctor who knows you and your medical history is particularly important, so that he or she can determine which form of treatment is best. There are well-established treatments for both hepatitis B and hepatitis C, but there are not for those who are co-infected with both.
However, there is a reasonable amount of evidence to suggest that the treatments used for hepatitis C alone are also good treatments for co-infection. One study showed that, using Interferon plus Ribavirin treatment, there was a hepatitis C clearance rate of 43% for co-infected patients, compared with 60% for those with hepatitis C alone. Other studies have shown that assessing which (if any) of the viruses is “dominant” (preventing the other from replicating) in a co-infected person is helpful in determining which treatment method to use. Caution should also be exercised, as treating one virus may cause the other one to “flare”, as it is no longer being prevented from replicating. Unfortunately, there has been relatively little research done on co-infection of hepatitises B and C. The best summary article available online is by Seth Crockett and Emmet Keeffe, and can be found at http://www.ann-clinmicrob.com/ content/4/1/13.
Hepatitis SA
Ph 1300 437 222 or (08) 8362 8443 Fax (08) 8362 8559 3 Hackney Rd Hackney SA 5069 PO Box 782 Kent Town SA 5071 www.hepsa.asn.au
Hepatitis B/ Hepatitis C Co-infection
Last update: September 2012 SA Health has contributed funds towards this Program.
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