Abstract
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a common cause of chronic liver disease and liver cancer worldwide. Despite advances in curative therapies for HCV, the incidence of new infections is not decreasing at the expected rate to hit the World Health Organization (WHO) target for the elimination of HCV by 2030. In fact, there are still more new cases of infection in the United States and worldwide than are being cured. The reasons for the rise in new cases include poor access to care and the opioid epidemic. The clinical burden of HCV requires a multimodal approach to eradicating the infection. Vaccination would be an excellent tool to prevent incidence of new infections; however, the genetic diversity of HCV and its ability to generate quasispecies within an infected host make creating a broadly reactive vaccine difficult. Multiple vaccine candidates have been identified, but to date, there has not been a target that has led to a broadly reactive vaccine, though several of the candidates are promising. Additionally, the virus is very difficult to culture and testing candidates in humans or chimpanzees is ethically challenging. Despite the multiple barriers to creating a vaccine, vaccination still represents an important tool in the fight against HCV.
Highlights
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, liver transplant, and liver cancer worldwide, and is a systemic infection with effects on many organ systems and quality of life
Treatment, and linkage to care for at-risk populations, a majority of people with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) have not been tested or treated in most countries [2]; the exceptions are global leaders such as Egypt and Georgia where screening and linkage to care is at very high levels
A vaccine for HCV would be an ideal preventive solution to add to the arsenal; due to the genetic diversity of the virus and an incomplete understanding of the body’s immune response to the virus, vaccine development continues to be in experimental stages
Summary
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, liver transplant, and liver cancer worldwide, and is a systemic infection with effects on many organ systems and quality of life. With the advent of the direct-acting antiviral (DAAs) therapies, the treatment and cure of chronic HCV has significantly improved [1]. Several theories have been postulated as to why this is the case, but regardless of the reasons, it is abundantly clear that preventive strategies would augment our efforts to manage the burden caused by HCV. A vaccine for HCV would be an ideal preventive solution to add to the arsenal; due to the genetic diversity of the virus and an incomplete understanding of the body’s immune response to the virus, vaccine development continues to be in experimental stages.
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