title: Towards hepatitis C eradication from the HIV-infected population.
abstract: Around 10-15% of the 35 million people living with HIV worldwide have chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and are prone to develop liver-related complications. Exposure to HCV is almost universal among injecting drug users and is on the rise among homosexual men. Response to peginterferon-ribavirin therapy is generally lower in coinfection compared to HCV monoinfection. For this reason, the advent of direct-acting antivirals (DAA) is eagerly awaited for this population. The results of trials using DAA in coinfection show that treatment response rates are similar to those obtained in HCV monoinfection. Thus, HIV should no longer be considered as a "special" population, as long as antiretroviral therapy is given and drug interactions are taken into account. Envisioning HCV eradication from the HIV population faces major challenges ahead, including identification of the large number of undiagnosed individuals, and ensuring wide access to the best but often expensive HCV medications. This article forms part of a symposium in Antiviral Research on "Hepatitis C: next steps toward global eradication".
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Barreiro
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose Vicente
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Montero
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Department of Internal Medicine, Puerta de Hierro Research Institute & Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: de Mendoza
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Labarga
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Carlos III, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: vsoriano@dragonet.es.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Soriano
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D060740:Disease Eradication; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents
keywords: Antiviral therapy; Coinfection; DAA; Eradication; HIV; Hepatitis C