How long is a course of HCV treatment?

In coinfection, treatment is currently recommended for at least

48 weeks for all genotypes. Some doctors are extending treatment
for people with genotypes 1 and 4. Some researchers have
suggested that coinfected people with HCV genotypes 2 and 3 may
be able to shorten treatment, depending on their early response to
treatment (for more information on early response to HCV
treatment, see box, page 44).
Recent research has looked at tailoring treatment according to
individual response. In particular, people who are HCV/HIV-coinfected
may require a longer course of HCV treatment than those who are
HCV-monoinfected, especially persons with HCV genotype 1.

Goals of HCV treatment

Curing HCV
The primary goal is to get rid of HCV treating to cure.
In hepatitis C, a sustained virological response, or SVR, means that
a person does not have detectable virus in his/her bloodstream six
months after completing hepatitis C treatment.

HCV treatment and CD4 cell count

Although interferon can cause a temporary drop in your CD4 count,
(but not your CD4 percentage), the three major HCV treatment trials
for coinfected people did not find more opportunistic infections (OIs)
in people with low (under 200/mm3) CD4 cell counts.
There have been some reports of Candida esophagitis (a fungal
infection of the esophagus), and tuberculosis among coinfected
people during HCV therapy. In some cases, prophylaxis (drugs that
protect against certain OIs) may be recommended.
CD4 cell counts usually return to the pretreatment levels within a few
months after HCV treatment has ended.