HIV and HCV: distinct infections with important overlapping challenges
Scientific article: Journal of the International AIDS Society
Up to one in seven people living with HIV are co-infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) , and HCV is now a leading cause of death among people living with HIV in some countries . HCV and HIV have a number of important overlapping challenges. While the vast majority of the estimated 180 million people infected with HCV globally are HIV negative, efforts to control HCV infection can be informed by the experience of the global HIV response.
Many of the key challenges for scaling up access to HCV treatment have had to be confronted for HIV, including ensuring access to medicines, developing simplified models of care, scaling up prevention alongside treatment, reaching marginalized populations, overcoming stigma and supporting civil society.