In this week's episode, we look into the history of Hepatitis C. The hepatitis C virus spread far and wide during the era before modern sterilization and screening, infecting millions. We look into the history, risks, symptoms (many have none!), and complications of hepatitis C. Finally, we look at how far treatment has progressed and what's coming up on the horizon.

References:

Khalili, M., & Burman, B. (2014). Liver disease. In Hammer, G. D., & McPhee, S. J. (Eds.). Pathophysiology Of Disease An Introduction To Clinical Medicine (7th ed., pp. 385-425). McGraw-Hill Education.https://archive.org/details/PathophysiologyOfDiseaseAnIntroductionToClinicalMedicine7thEdPDFtahir99VRG/page/410/mode/1up?view=theater

Shiffman, M. (Ed.). (2012).  Chronic Hepatitis C Virus: Advances in Treatment, Promise for the Future. Springer Science+Business Media. DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-1192-5_1 https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4614-1192-5

Koren, M.J. & Kapila, N. (Hosts). (2025). The liver: Common causes of complications, cirrhosis, and cancer. [Podcast Episode]. In MedEvidence! Truth Behind the Data. MedEvidence. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1926091/episodes/17268919

Rosen, H. R. (2011). Chronic hepatitis C infection. New England Journal of Medicine, 364(25), 2429-2438. https://www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1056/NEJMcp1006613

Oancea, C. N., Butaru, A. E., Streba, C. T., Pirici, D., Rogoveanu, I., Diculescu, M. M., & Gheonea, D. I. (2021). Global hepatitis C elimination: history, evolution, revolutionary changes and barriers to overcome. Romanian Journal of Morphology and Embryology, 61(3), 643. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8112794/

Good, S. S., Luo, S., Lin, K., Vo, A., Agrawal, N. G., & Sommadossi, J. P. (2025). Bemnifosbuvir and ruzasvir in combination exhibit potent synergistic antiviral activity in vitro while maintaining a favorable nonclinical safety profile in vivo. Antiviral Research, 237, 106137. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166354225000634