Connect
MJA
MJA

Hepatitis C: where are we at and where are we going?

Robert G Batey
Med J Aust 2002; 176 (8): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2002.tb04454.x
Published online: 15 April 2002

We are making progress in our understanding of the hepatitis C virus, but there is still a long way to go

The identification of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in 19891 delineated a disease previously masquerading under the title of "non-A, non-B hepatitis". In the ensuing years, hepatitis C has become a national epidemic, with more than 150 000 Australians known to be infected. It is estimated that an additional 11 000 new infections occurred each year during the 1990s.2 Escalating rates of HCV infection will have enormous consequences, as 10%–15% of people infected have the potential to progress to end-stage liver disease, with all the implications that has for healthcare services in the years ahead.3


  • Division of Medicine, John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, NSW.



  • 1. Choo Q-L, Kuo G, Weiner AJ, et al. Isolation of a cDNA clone derived from a blood-borne non-A, non-B viral hepatitis genome. Science 1989; 244: 359-362.
  • 2. Law MG. Modelling the hepatitis C virus epidemic in Australia. Hepatitis C Virus Projections Working Group. J Gastroenterol Hepatol 1999; 14: 1100-1107.
  • 3. Freeman AJ, Dore GJ, Law MG, et al. Estimating progression to cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Hepatology 2001; 34: 809-816.
  • 4. National Health and Medical Research Council and Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council. Hepatitis C: epidemiology, natural history, control and treatment. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1994.
  • 5. National Health and Medical Research Council. A strategy for the detection and management of hepatitis C in Australia. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1997.
  • 6. Hepatitis C: informing Australia's national response. Canberra: Department of Health and Aged Care, 2000.
  • 7. National hepatitis C strategy, 1999–2000 to 2003–2004. Canberra: Department of Health and Aged Care, 2000.
  • 8. NSW Hepatitis C Care and Treatment Services Plan. Sydney: NSW Health Department, January 2002.
  • 9. C change. Report of the enquiry into hepatitis C related discrimination. Sydney: Anti-Discrimination Board, 2001.
  • 10. MacDonald MA, Wodak AD, Dolan KA, et al. Hepatitis C virus antibody prevalence among injecting drug users at selected needle and syringe programs in Australia, 1995-1997. Med J Aust 2000; 172: 57-61. <eMJA full text>
  • 11. Sievert W. An overview of antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C infection. In: Crofts N, Dore G, Locarnini S, editors. Hepatitis C: an Australian perspective. Melbourne: IP Communications, 2001: 140-154.

Author

remove_circle_outline Delete Author
add_circle_outline Add Author

Comment
Do you have any competing interests to declare? *

I/we agree to assign copyright to the Medical Journal of Australia and agree to the Conditions of publication *
I/we agree to the Terms of use of the Medical Journal of Australia *
Email me when people comment on this article

Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.