Patients with Effectively Treated Hepatitis C Still Can Be Reinfected

The effectiveness of the newest treatment options for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection means that clinicians will have to worry about reinfection in treated patients who have ongoing behavioral risk factors. A small study from the Netherlands illustrates some characteristic serologic patterns.

Investigators identified primary HCV infection in 63 HIV-infected men (most receiving effective antiretroviral therapy) who had HCV antibody seroconversion and viremia. During median follow-up of 4 years, 5 patients spontaneously cleared the infection, and 31 of 43 patients who were treated within 1 year of infection achieved a sustained virologic response. Anti-HCV antibody titer declined significantly in all of these 36 patients, and in 8 of the 31 …