Hi,
How are you? I am really sorry to hear about your Dad's diagnosis but it is indeed good news that he has cleared
hepatitis B. What is his age?
Unlike
hepatitis C, in hepatitis B, there is usually no need to take treatment if your liver function is normal and if your
viral load is low. He will need additional tests to look for other markers of infection and to see if you are infective to others (Hepatitis B PCR, Anti-Hbs ab, Anti Hbc ab, Anti Hbe Ab,). Based on this we can categorise your dad as a carrier or as someone who has cleared the virus. Most people will clear the virus by themselves without any treatment. Only a minority become chronic carriers and only a minority in them will develop
cirrhosis at a later stage.
Hepatitis B only needs treatment if the viral load is very high or if the liver is being damaged as evident from blood tests.
Hepatitis C on the other hand is more aggressive disease and most people do develop some form of
liver damage over the years. This is the reason why most doctors will treat this disease aggressively in order to obtain a cure. But treatment will depend on the viral load (hep C viral PCR) and the genotype of the virus (1,2,3,4) as different genotypes need different treatment and they respond differently to treatment as well.
But the hepatitis C treatment is toxic to the body (damages liver and
bone marrow) and so can be given only to those who can tolerate it. If the liver has already been damaged i,e has become cirrhotic, then I think you should start thinking in terms of getting a
liver transplant done for your dad.
Hope this helped and hope your dad feels better. Please do not hesitate to contact me for further details, esp regarding places in INdia which treats Hepatitis C and which offer Liver transplant - rxsuresh@gmail.com