No advancement in the discipline of medicine parallels the dramatic progress of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, which within 30 years went from having no name to having safe and simple treatments that result in virologic cure in most patients. As of early 2011, the only treatment of chronic HCV infection was a combination of pegylated interferon (IFN) and ribavirin administered for 6 to 12 months. Interferon-based regimens resulted in rates of cure, termed sustained virologic response (SVR), of roughly 50% and necessitated subcutaneous injections with frequent and often serious adverse effects. The poor results led many patients to forgo treatment, even with the knowledge that HCV can be fatal. Still other patients were not candidates because of medical or psychiatric contraindications to IFN.

中文翻译：

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直接作用抗病毒药对丙型肝炎的益处

在医学领域，没有任何进展可与丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）感染的急剧发展并驾齐驱。丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）感染在30年内从无名氏变为拥有安全简单的治疗方法，可在大多数患者中实现病毒学治愈。截至2011年初，慢性HCV感染的唯一治疗方法是将聚乙二醇化干扰素（IFN）和利巴韦林联合使用6到12个月。基于干扰素的治疗方案导致治愈率（称为持续病毒学应答（SVR））大约为50％，并且需要进行皮下注射，且频繁且经常出现严重的不良反应。糟糕的结果导致许多患者放弃治疗，即使知道HCV可能致命。由于IFN的医学或精神病禁忌症，其他患者仍不适合作为候选药物。