remission of

[gypsy2000]

Is hepc still contagious when in remission

[Advocate1955]

Hep C can be cured with treatment.  The word "cure" is currently used to describe someone who previously had detectable HCV RNA in their blood, did treatment, and then had no HCV RNA detected in their blood for six months.  This is considered a "cure" and this person would no longer be considered to have the Hep C virus.  Either the Hep C virus is present in the bloodstream or it is not present, so the term remission is not used in in relation to Hep C.  The field of Hep C treatment is rapidly changing, especially in the past decade or so, and particularly in the past five years.  I am unclear as to what you mean when you say Hep C is a terminal disease.  Many people live many decades with Hep C, may not even be aware that they have it, so I don't think it's necessarily considered to be a terminal disease.  On the other hand, many people who have Hep C do develop liver failure and/or liver cancer and may die from liver failure or liver cancer, although liver failure or liver cancer can also be treated with proper medical care and liver transplant. Some people have had a liver transplant and then successfully treated their Hep C, which then prevents their new liver from being damaged by the Hep C virus.  Other people are currently in trials in which they are treating their Hep C while waiting for a liver transplant to study whether or not they will remain Hep C virus free after a liver transplant.
I would be interested in knowing when you were hospitalized for liver failure and if the doctor who spoke to you was a hepatologist.  This information might help us to understand if the doctor who told you there is no cure for Hep C, it can go into remission, and it is terminal was speaking prior to recent advances in the study/treatment of Hep C, if the doctor who told you this may not have been a hepatologist, or if you may have misunderstood the doctor.
Advocate1955

[flcyclist]

In most responses to a post a few years old I would suggest that you start a new post to answer your question.  However, in this case I'd like to request that you post a link to this information that brought you the point of "knowing'" that HCV goes into remission like cancer.  It was always clearly my understanding that if you SVR'd at 6 months, many doctors consider this a "cure" since this remain the gold standard for tx success.  

Were your statements based on the comments from your doctor or do you have data or link to studies that show HCV goes into remission.

http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/52/7/889.full

[angelav22]

Not necessarily true.  I was recently hospitalized for liver failure and found out it was due to Hep C.  With treatment, the virus can go into remission.  It is a terminal disease the same as cancer, and like cancer CAN sometimes with therapy, be thrown into "remission".  This I knew.  But my question is the same as the one above, asking if the virus is contagious while in "remission".  The doctor explained to me that there is no known "cure" and that the virus will remain forever, however there is hope in stopping the progress, i.e., "remission". . .  Is this NOT correct?

[Bill1954]

Can you be more specific? Remission is probably an inappropriate term for Hep C; either a person is HCV RNA positive or negative. Are you referring to disease that has been resolved due to treatment, or one that is active, but without symptoms?  

If a person is HCV RNA positive; yes, the disease can be vectored from blood to blood contact.

Bill

[nygirl7]

No such thing as remission really - if it doesn't come back in six months you have beaten the disease and will remain hepatitis free unless you get reinfected.