What if the treatment doesn't work?

Treatment is regarded as a success if hepatitis C cannot be detected in your blood some months after treatment. This is referred to as a sustained virologic response (SVR) and means you have cleared the virus. However, treatment is not successful for everyone.

Even if you do not clear the virus, receiving treatment can help slow down the infection and can stop your liver getting swollen and scarred.

A very low percentage of patients will also relapse (this means that the virus becomes detectable again after treatment is completed).

If treatment doesn't work first time or if a relapse occurs, you will be able to talk to your doctor about trying a different course for treatment.

Re-treatment means that the drugs, the dosage and length of treatment are changed to offer an increased chance of success.