First of their kind in direct-acting antiviral treatments, the US FDA has approved two new hepatitis-C drugs for children. These drugs are important as in today's scenario, the HCV is the commonest cause of post-transfusion hepatitis. The seroprevalence rate of HCV among the blood donor population in India is 1.8% - 2.5 %. Thus, this article updates about the recently FDA approved hepatitis-C drugs in children.
Hepatitis C in Child: For children who acquire the infection by vertical transmission (from mother to child), up to 40% will clear the virus on their own (spontaneous clearance), without treatment by 2 years of age. In adolescents who acquire HCV by high-risk behaviors, 80% will develop chronic HCV and many of those will go on to develop chronic liver disease with cirrhosis in 20-30 years. APPROVED DRUGS The two approved drugs are sofosbuvir and a combined drug of ledipasvir and…
