HIV/HCV coinfection: a new era of treatment.

Hepatitis C is a life-threatening illness that can progress to cirrhosis, liver cancer, and end-stage liver failure. An estimated one-third of HIV positive people are coinfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), and HCV-related liver disease is a major cause of death for people with HIV in the era of effective antiretroviral therapy (ART). HCV has made headlines recently due to the approval of the first direct-acting antiviral (DAA) agents, which promise to revolutionize hepatitis C treatment. Researchers at the 2011 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) and the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) annual meeting presented the first data from studies of these drugs in HIV/HCV coinfected people.