Treatment as Prevention: Should Hepatitis C Learn the Lessons from HIV?

Long-term experience in the treatment of HIV-infected individuals has shown indirect benefits of early initiation of antiretroviral therapy, particularly in preventing HIV transmission. With the advent of direct-acting antivirals for the treatment of hepatitis C, the strategy of treatment-as-prevention has become feasible. However, economic, clinical, ethical, and public health issues arise from the concept of using therapeutic interventions only as prevention strategies.