With other illnesses

People with some medical conditions are more likely than others to have hepatitis C. In the developed world, approximately one-quarter of people with HIV will also have hepatitis C.1  People with kidney disease have traditionally been at a higher risk of catching hepatitis C (through haemodialysis, blood transfusions, contaminated equipment or following a kidney transplant); people who have had other solid-organ transplants are also at higher risk. In people who have had hepatitis C and then receive a liver transplant, it is common for the hepatitis C virus to return; about half of these people have detectable virus within one year of transplantation.

Hepatitis C and HIV

Hepatitis C is relatively common in people who are infected with HIV. People with hepatitis C who are at risk of infection with HIV should be offered an HIV test and appropriate counselling. It is also recommended that people with HIV should be tested for hepatitis C. The course of liver disease due to hepatitis C is faster in people with HIV and, therefore, it poses a more immediate health risk than in people who only have hepatitis C. In addition, hepatitis C increases the liver toxicity of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which is used against HIV. 

Other conditions affecting the liver

Having a ‘fatty liver’ – associated with obesity and alcohol-associated liver disease – and co-infection with other hepatitis viruses can both speed up the liver damage caused by hepatitis C. 

Treatment

If you have another illness as well as hepatitis C, it may affect how your doctor decides to treat you. People with some conditions, such as heart failure, cannot take all of the hepatitis C treatments. Also, the drugs you are taking for the other illness may affect the way the hepatitis C drugs work. To help your doctor choose the right treatment for you, it is very important that you tell them about any other illness you have and all medications you are taking.

1Sherman KE, Rouster SD, Chung RT, Rajicic N. Hepatitis C Virus prevalence among patients infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus: a cross-sectional analysis of the US adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group. Clin Infect Dis 2002; 34(6): 831-837.