What treatments are there for hep B?
Not everyone with hep B needs treatment. The treatments for hep B aim to stop the virus being active and multiplying in the liver. A good outcome on treatment is to lower the viral load (how much of the virus is in a person’s blood) so that the immune system can make the virus inactive. Treatment cannot cure hepatitis B though: the goal is to try and control the virus by making it inactive. In Australia there are a number of drugs used to treat hep B: • Pegylated interferon boosts the body’s immune system and changes the virus’ ability to multiply. It is a synthetic version of a protein our bodies naturally produce (interferon). Pegylated interferon is injected under the skin once a week for up to twelve months. • Lamivudine (Zeffix®) is an antiviral drug that stops the virus from multiplying. It is taken orally (as a tablet) every day for at least a year. Not many people are given lamivudine in Australia because the risk of the virus becoming resistant to this drug is high. It is stil
