Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C in Active Drug Users

It is currently estimated that between 2.7 million and 4.0 million persons in the United States have chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.1 Many of these persons have potentially progressive disease. Studies suggest that mortality and health care costs from complications of chronic hepatitis C and cirrhosis, such as hepatocellular carcinoma and liver failure, will increase dramatically over the next 10 to 20 years.2,3 Several reports indicate that this increase has already begun to occur.4,5 Thus, the development of more effective interferon-based treatments is particularly encouraging. A standard regimen of interferon and ribavirin results in sustained eradication of . . .