SAN FRANCISCO-The Department of Veterans Affairs has begun a nationwide study to determine the effectiveness of hepatitis C treatment in veterans, who, as a group, are at high risk for the disease.
"This study will help us tailor hepatitis C treatment guidelines to help prevent infected veterans from developing severe liver disease," Teresa L. Wright, MD, of San Francisco VA Medical Center said in a statement. Hepatitis C virus is the leading cause of liver transplantation in the United States.
Researchers will evaluate 11,500 veterans with hepatitis C at 30 VA medical centers in the expectation of finding about 2,500 veterans who are eligible for treatment. Eligible patients will then be treated with the combination of interferon and ribavirin. The study will also evaluate whether combination therapy works equally well among various ethnic groups. According to the VA's Emerging Pathogens Initiative, in cases in which ethnicity was known, 42% of veterans who tested positive for hepatitis C virus in 1998 were Caucasian, 27% were African American, and 6% were Hispanic.
The San Francisco VA Medical Center said that veterans may be five to ten times more likely to have hepatitis C than other Americans.
For Your Information:
The U.S. Veterans Health Administration posts links to information about hepatitis C at www.vahepatitisc.com.
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