Finding out about hep C will help you plan for the future. Our Hep C Action Newsletter Program can help guide you through testing and treatment.
Special Considerations for People With HIV and HCV
About 25% of people with HIV are also infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). (Approximately 1 in 10 people with hep C also have HIV.) With the vast improvements in HIV therapy in the last 2 decades, hep C-related illness has emerged as a major health problem for people with both infections.
Because people are living with HIV for long periods of time, a condition like hep C has time to slowly attack the liver. A significant percentage of HIV-positive people are hospitalized with or die from liver disease related to HCV infection.
The doctor and the healthcare team that treat HIV can make recommendations about whether or not hep C treatment should begin. Until recently, there was no approved treatment for hep C in patients who were HIV+. Before a medication can be approved to treat a condition, evidence from large clinical trials—involving hundreds or thousands of people—must be gathered and studied. Approval comes after a panel of experts agrees that the treatment has demonstrated its value. You should talk to your doctor about recent developments in treatment.
How does being HIV+ affect hep C?
On average, people with HIV and hep C have more of the hep C virus in their blood, progress more quickly to HCV-related liver disease, and may have more extensive scarring of the liver than people who are not HIV+. That’s why HCV infection is considered an “opportunistic infection” for people with HIV—it takes advantage of weaknesses in the immune system due to HIV.
How does having hep C affect HIV infection?
The answer to this question is less clear. There is some evidence that people with hep C experience more rapid progression to AIDS, but this evidence is not conclusive. The standard treatment for HIV infection seems to have no effect on hep C. However, because many medications affect the liver, extra care must be taken to check liver health during HIV treatment.
Do treatments for HIV and hep C affect each other?
This is a complicated question and depends on the specifics of your situation and your treatments. Your healthcare team will closely monitor your health, including viral loads for both HIV and HCV, to make sure your medications are working as they should.
As more and more people are successfully treated for HIV and hep C, we will learn more about how the 2 conditions and their treatments interact.
People with HIV/HCV coinfection share many of the same concerns and should take many of the same steps as other people with hep C, such as:
- Receive tests for and/or vaccinations against hepatitis A and hepatitis B
- Limit or eliminate alcohol use
- Take steps to prevent the spread of HIV and HCV
