In a multi-center, prospective, open cohort study, patients with documented acute hepatitis C infection will be followed prospectively over an initial time-period of 3 years after diagnosis of acute hepatitis C infection to investigate:
1. epidemiology
* to describe the characteristics of patients who have acquired acute HCV infection, including examination of regional differences in modes of transmission, behavioural factors, concomitant sexually transmitted diseases, clinical presentation and associated laboratory test results.
* characterization of the HCV strains circulating within the community using phylogenetic analysis
2. natural history
* determination of the rate of spontaneous viral clearance, and the clinical, immunological, host genetic and viral factors associated with viral clearance
* progression of liver disease after acute hepatitis C; including the use of non-invasive liver fibrosis markers to estimate rates of liver fibrosis progression
3. treatment strategies
* describe the outcome of different treatment strategies for acute HCV infection, although it is acknowledged that there will be no random allocation of treatment strategies.
* investigate factors associated with treatment response including time to initiation of therapy, duration of therapy, the use of ribavirin and genetic factors.
