When infection with hepatitis C virus goes from acute to chronic, severe liver disease may occur which requires organ transplantation. Nearly 200 million people are chronically infected with HCV, necessitating approaches to preventing and treating infections. No HCV vaccine is available, and current antiviral therapy consists of administration of interferon plus ribavirin, a combination that is effective about half the time and is associated with undesirable side effects. New antiviral compounds that target a viral protease and RNA polymerase are currently in clinical trials may eventually reach the market. But our experience with HIV-1 has shown that combinations of three drugs are the most effective for derailing the emergences of drug resistant viruses. The third target for HCV could be NS5A, a viral protein without a known function.
