Hepatitis C spreads mainly through contact with infected blood, often due to unsafe injections, medical procedures, or intravenous drug use. While the infection may start quietly, it can turn chronic and seriously damage the liver if left untreated.

Untreated hepatitis C can lead to cirrhosis and even liver cancer, especially in people with long-standing infection, alcohol use, or co-infections like HIV. The good news? Modern medicine has changed the game — with today’s therapies, hepatitis C is no longer a life sentence but is a curable condition.

The latest direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) can cure hepatitis C in most people — believe it or not, often in just 8–12 weeks. These medicines are highly targeted, well-tolerated, and boast cure rates of over 99% — a huge leap from older, harsher therapies. Before DAAs, hepatitis C treatment relied on interferon-based therapies that were long, harsh, and effective for only a percentage of patients.

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DAAs work by directly attacking the hepatitis C virus at different stages of its life cycle, stopping it from multiplying and allowing the body to clear the infection. Unlike older treatments, DAAs do not rely on boosting the immune system, which makes them far more precise and significantly easier on patients. Most regimens involve taking one or two pills a day, with minimal disruption to daily life.

Another major advantage of DAAs is their consistency across patient groups. They are effective even in people with advanced liver disease, prior treatment failure, or co-existing conditions. Another advantage with DAAs is that side effects are usually mild — such as fatigue or headache — and serious complications are uncommon.

In hepatitis C, as with most diseases, early action makes all the difference. The bottom line is — get tested early, start treatment on time, and stick to medical advice.

(The writer is the Senior Director, Hepatology department at Medanta – The Medicity)