Immediate Treatment

Immediate treatment may be offered to someone who has contracted Hepatitis C at work, through say a needle stick injury. The chances of clearing the virus in the early (acute) stages are very good and so treatment is quite often offered there and then.

In the case of Chronic Hepatitis C where the patient may have had it for many years, immediate treatment may not be appropriate. In most cases treatment will be recommended by the specialist that you are referred too. But you may wish to wait because of personal circumstances or for new drugs to come along.

If you have genotype 1 and have no detectable liver damage, you may be advised to wait as the chances of clearing the virus after a year of treatment are only approx 50%.