Hepatitis B and C Coinfection

Coinfection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major public health issue in developing countries because coinfected patients may experience more rapid and severe liver disease progression. Treatment should be prioritized for these patients. The same treatment criteria should be applied to patients who are coinfected based on the viral dominance after viral interactions as are applied to patients who have either hepatitis B or hepatitis C alone. The introduction of new direct-acting antivirals has opened new pathways in treating HCV alone, which need to be evaluated in HBV/HCV coinfected patients. In HBV dominance, high-potency and high-genetic barrier nucleos(t)ide analogue should always be considered. Both HBV and HCV treatment could be implemented in synchronously active HBV/HCV coinfection or HBV reactivation during HCV treatment.