Abstract
Purpose of Review: Increasing hepatitis C virus (HCV) cases over the past decade have raised concerns about subsequent increased cases in infants due to mother to child transmission (MTCT). Many are reminded of the early days of HIV and the rationale for using antiretroviral agents during pregnancy. Recent Findings: Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) that are highly potent, all-oral, short-duration regimens that cure HCV have led many to consider what it would entail to use DAAs for pregnant women. Considering HIV and Hepatitis B virus (HBV) as two infections with MTCT to draw lessons from, DAA use to interrupt HCV MTCT comes with risks, costs, and many potential benefits. Summary: When considering how to effectively curb the current epidemic of HCV in the US population, using DAAs to treat pregnant women with HCV offers potential benefits to the mother immediately, to the pair in the short-term and to the child, family, and society over a lifetime.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 155-161 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Current HIV/AIDS Reports |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 1 2018 |
Funding
This article is part of the Topical Collection on Co-infections and Comorbidity A. Sidney Barritt IV declares no conflict of interest. Ravi Jhaveri received a grant from Merck and has participated in clinical trials with Gilead and Abbvie.
Keywords
- Hepatitis C
- Mother to children transmission
- Pregnancy
- Vertical transmission
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Virology
- Infectious Diseases
