Advocates say as many as 3.9 million people have chronic hepatitis C. Now, doctors are using a new method to treat mothers before they pass the virus to their children.
Kareena Wasserman found out she had hepatitis C while she was pregnant with her second child.
“I remember crying at the airport, this was not what we wanted,” she said.
Most people with hepatitis C don’t know what they’re doing because they don’t show symptoms. If left untreated, scarring and liver disease may result.
The virus is spread through contact with blood containing the virus.
Dr. Ravi Jhaveri said: “We are seeing more adults and younger people being diagnosed with or living with hepatitis C, we are seeing the impact of the opioid epidemic, and now we are seeing increased risk in pregnant women We’ve seen this happen too.” , director of the Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Lurie Children’s Hospital.
In November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added new guidance for testing infants between 2 and 6 months old. A report in June found that only a third of patients were cured.
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“It’s not a huge emergency, but we want to make sure it’s addressed within the first few months and that it’s easily incorporated into planned visits for babies’ regular vaccinations and checkups between 2 and 6 months of age,” Jhaveri said.
Scripps News spoke with Chicago doctors who treat mothers during pregnancy rather than after delivery so parents don’t pass the virus to their babies.
They offer women in their second or third trimester a once-daily course of antiviral medication for 8-12 weeks.
“We can complete the entire course of treatment during pregnancy, including all the labs that have to be monitored before, during and after the course of treatment. These can be done alongside routine prenatal care, giving us hope that in most cases before the baby is born Cure hepatitis C,” Jhaveri said.
The current research on prenatal hepatitis C treatment is small, but doctors say it’s promising, so patients like Kareena Wasserman weigh the risks, pros and cons.
“The likelihood of having another C-section is relatively high. With a C-section, because you know, you might have an interaction with the blood, so there’s a higher chance and chance of passing the disease on to the baby and my daughter,” Wasserman said .
She received prenatal medication in her third trimester, recovered and gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Elizabeth five months ago.
In 2020, the CDC also issued guidance stating that all pregnant women should be tested for hepatitis C.
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