UK Acute Cohort for Hepatitis C
Research type
Research Study
Full title
UK Cohort for Acute Hepatitis C: A prospective, multicentre, observational, cohort study of Acute Hepatitis C in the United Kingdom
IRAS ID
270137
Contact name
Graham Cooke
Contact email
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
NA, NA
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Hepatitis C (HCV) is a viral infection transmitted by exposure to infected body fluids. Whilst some people can be exposed to the virus and clear it themselves, the majority of people will develop a long-lasting infection unless they are treated. In some cases, people might not realise they are infected and not have any specific symptoms, but unknowingly transmit the virus to other people. In other cases, HCV can cause cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. HCV is a global problem and is a major cause of illness worldwide. Overall, we think that HCV is responsible for roughly 600,000 deaths every year.
Until recently, HCV was very difficult to treat. Earlier treatments were only partly effective and had many side effects. New drug-classes have recently become available and have dramatically changed HCV treatment. These are called directly-acting-antivirals (DAAs). In most cases, these drugs can cure ~95% of infected people. The success of DAAs has led to hope that HCV can be eliminated as a major health problem worldwide.
In this study we’re aiming to study recently acquired HCV infections (acute infections). This means people who have been infected (or re-infected) at some point within the past twelve months. Diagnosing new or acute infections can be very hard. We still don’t fully understand how these infections can spread between groups of people – so-called transmission networks.
The main aim of this study is to better understand the ways in which the virus can spread between groups of people. We aim to do this by better understanding the people who are infected, how they were infected and by looking at the virus itself. We hope that this information will help us to design tools to reduce the spread of the infection.
REC name
London - Westminster Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1859
Date of REC Opinion
10 Feb 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion