AU - Naderi, Malihe AU - Gholipour, Naghmeh AU - Zolfaghari, Mohammad Reza AU - Maryam Moradi, Binabaj AU - Moghadam, Ahmad Yegane AU - Gholamreza, Motalleb TI - Hepatitis C Virus and Vaccine Development PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE TA - ijmcmed JN - ijmcmed VO - 3 VI - 4 IP - 4 4099 - http://ijmcmed.org/article-1-173-en.html 4100 - http://ijmcmed.org/article-1-173-en.pdf SO - ijmcmed 4 AB  - The prevalence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is approximately 3% around the world. This virus causes chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The effectiveness of interferon-α and ribavirin therapy is about 50% and is associated with significant toxicity and cost. Hence, generating new vaccines or drugs is an obligation. However, there is no vaccine available for clinical use. DNA vaccines have some advantages such as producing feasibility and generating intensive cellular and humoral immune responses. Activation and improvement of natural immune defense mechanisms is a necessity for the development of an effective HCV vaccine. This article discusses the current status of therapies for hepatitis C, the promising new therapies and the experimental strategies to develop an HCV vaccine. CP - IRAN IN - Department of Microbiology, Qom branch, Islamic Azad University, Qom, Iran. LG - eng PB - ijmcmed PG - 207 PT - Original Article YR - 2014