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HCV ADVOCATE WEEKLY NEWS REVIEW: A Review of HCV, HBV and HIV/HCV Coinfection Related News and Highlights

Week Ending: December 11th, 2004

Alan Franciscus
Editor-in-Chief

To download pdf version click here

This Issue:

• Doctors Perform Australia's First Liver-Cell Transplant
• Study Tracks Gay Men, Hepatitis Vaccines
• Array BioPharma Grants InterMune Expanded Rights Under Hepatitis C Discovery Agreement
• WSU Research Leads to More Effective Hepatitis C Treatment for Blacks
• Hepatitis C Tests Encouraged
• How I Live with Hepatitis C
• Japan: New Antiviral Injection PegIntron for Chronic Hepatitis C Treatment, Schering-Plough
• Dynavax Hepatitis Vaccine Beats Glaxo Rival in Older Patients Trial
• Md. Hepatitis C May Be From Medical Tests
• The Silent Specter of HCV
• Hospital Seeks Patients Exposed to Hepatitis C

December 7th, 2004

Doctors Perform Australia's First Liver-Cell Transplant
SourceURL:http://www.abc.net.au

Doctors at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital have performed Australia's first liver-cell transplant.

An eight-year-old girl with a metabolic liver disease was the transplant recipient.

Doctors say the procedure avoids the risk of major surgery that comes with a whole liver transplant, because the cells are infused into a vein and distributed through the liver by blood vessels.

It is hoped that the new procedure may lead to many patients being treated with cells from just one donor liver, helping to alleviate a shortage of donors.

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Study Tracks Gay Men, Hepatitis Vaccines
SourceURL:http://news.yahoo.com/news
Christopher Curtis,
PlanetOut Network

SUMMARY: The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association claims that more than half of the nation's gay and bisexual men are not protected against hepatitis A and hepatitis B.

The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA) claims that more than half of the nation's gay and bisexual men are not protected against hepatitis A and hepatitis B, despite an increase in vaccine rates.

GLMA drew the conclusions after its sixth annual multi-city survey of men who have sex with men (MSM) at LGBT Pride festivals over the summer of 2004.

GLMA gathered 949 responses from nine sites to determine what sort of precautions MSM are taking to prevent hepatitis A and B.

"Hepatitis A can be spread by anal/oral contact or by contact with fingers, sex toys or condoms which have been in or near the anus of an infected sex partner," said Joel Ginsberg, interim executive director of GLMA. "Hepatitis B can be spread by anal or oral sex, by sharing needles, or by tattooing or piercing equipment which has not been properly sterilized."

Symptoms of hepatitis A and hepatitis B include fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, stomach discomfort, dark urine and jaundice. In 5 to 10 percent of cases, hepatitis B infection becomes chronic and may cause primary liver cancer, which can lead to death.

Both hepatitis A and B disproportionately affect gay and bisexual men.

According to GLMA's findings, 40 percent of respondents were immune to hepatitis A, and 39 percent of respondents were immune to hepatitis B.

GLMA believes attendees at the San Francisco Pride event had the highest vaccination rate. Of the people surveyed, 51 percent said they received at least one dose of a vaccine against hepatitis A. When it came to hepatitis B, 56 percent of respondents said they had received at least one dose of a vaccine.

GLMA found the lowest vaccination rates from respondents at the Queens, N.Y. PrideFest: 35 percent had received at least one dose of a vaccine against hepatitis A; 40 percent had received at least one dose of a vaccine against hepatitis B.

GLMA claims respondents were less likely to have been vaccinated if they had a lower income, did not have a regular health care provider; or if they weren't out to their provider.

By comparing this latest round of numbers, GLMA believes that vaccination rates are improving for respondents living in eight out of nine cities, rising by at least five percentage points from 2003 to 2004.

Since GLMA started this survey in 1999, overall vaccination rates against hepatitis A have more than doubled from 21 percent to 48 percent. Rates of vaccination against hepatitis B have also increased to 48 percent.

"It's true that this is not a rigorous study," admitted Ginsberg. "But we have been doing it for several years now and are seeing consistent results, so that makes us feel confidence in the findings."

"Unfortunately, no one else is doing this research, so for the time being, this is the best data available," Ginsberg added. "But whether or not the numbers are exactly right, it is clear that too many men who have sex with men are not protected from hepatitis A and B."

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Array BioPharma Grants InterMune Expanded Rights under Hepatitis C Discovery Agreement
SourceURL:http://www.pharmalive.com

BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 7, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Array BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ:ARRY) announced today that it has expanded the intellectual property rights granted to InterMune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITMN) relating to certain compounds discovered under their existing hepatitis C (HCV) drug discovery collaboration agreement that was established in September 2002. Array will receive a one-time payment of $2,500,000 from InterMune in exchange for these expanded rights. All other economic terms under this agreement remain unchanged.

In addition, under the terms of a new agreement, Array has granted InterMune an exclusive option through March 31, 2005 to access Array's small molecule drug discovery platform for targets of interest to InterMune in hepatology. Should InterMune select a new target, Array would be entitled to receive research funding as well as potential future milestone payments and royalties under this second collaboration.

About Array BioPharma
Array BioPharma is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of orally active drugs to address significant unmet medical needs. Array's proprietary drug development pipeline is primarily focused on the treatment of cancer and inflammatory disease and includes several small molecule drug candidates that are designed to regulate targets in therapeutically important biologic pathways. In addition, leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies access Array's drug discovery technologies and expertise through collaborations to design, create, optimize and evaluate drug candidates across a broad range of therapeutic areas. For more information on Array, please go to http://www.arraybiopharma.com/.

Array BioPharma's Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve significant risks and uncertainties, including those discussed in our annual report filed on form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2004, and in other reports filed by Array with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Because these statements reflect our current expectations concerning future events, our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors. These factors include, but are not limited to our ability to achieve and maintain profitability, the extent to which the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are willing to in-license drug candidates for their product pipelines and to collaborate with and fund third parties for their drug discovery activities, our ability to out-license our proprietary candidates on favorable terms, our ability to continue to fund and successfully progress internal research efforts and to create effective, commercially viable drugs, risks associated with our dependence on our collaborators for the clinical development and commercialization of our out-licensed drug candidates, the ability of our collaborators and of Array to meet drug objectives, including clinical trials, tied to milestones and royalties, and our ability to attract and retain experienced scientists and management. We are providing this information as of December 07, 2004, 2004. We undertake no duty to update any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of events or circumstances after the date of such statements or of anticipated or unanticipated events that alter any assumptions underlying such statements.

CONTACT: Tricia Haugeto of Array BioPharma Inc., +1-303-386-1193, thaugeto@arraybiopharma.com

Web site: http://www.arraybiopharma.com/

Ticker Symbol: (NASDAQ:ARRY),(NASDAQ:ITMN)

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WSU Research Leads to More Effective Hepatitis C Treatment for Blacks
SourceURL:http://www.southend.wayne.edu/
By Alicia Chmielewski
Staff Writer

Since the first treatment for chronic Hepatitis C became available in 1991, the Wayne State University School of Medicine has had a large role in investigating improved methods for treatment.

Hepatitis C is most commonly spread through infected blood or body fluids. According to AOL.com’s WebMD, “Sharing needles and other equipment used to inject drugs is the most common way HCV is spread.”

This does not mean only drug users come in contact with Hepatitis C, however. It may also be spread through sexual contact, though the risk is very low and a person may even have become infected from an organ transplant. Currently, organs are tested for the virus, but this was not always the case.

About 15-20 percent of people infected with the Hepatitis C virus are able to clear it from their system without any medical treatment. But the majority of those infected develop a chronic condition that in some can lead to cirrhosis of the liver or cancer, said Dr. Mutchnick, WSU professor of Internal Medicine.

Hepatitis C is often treated with interferons described by WebMD as “a complex family of proteins produced by the body that boosts its ability to fight disease” that “can also stop viruses from multiplying and damaging the body.” Ribavirin is given with the interferon to achieve better results.

Treatment of Hepatitis C has greatly improved since initial methods, which produced an 8-10 percent response rate. It was found that when interferon and ribavirin were combined in treatment, the response rate increased to 30 percent and when long acting interferon was used, 40-50 percent of patients responded.

However, one long-standing problem of treatment has been that blacks are only about half as likely to respond to treatment as whites.

Not only are blacks harder to treat for the Hepatitis C virus, but the virus itself is generally more prevalent in them than other groups.

One-and-a-half percent of whites in the United States tested positive for the Hepatitis C antibody, while 2.8 percent of Hispanics and 3.2 percent of blacks were positive.

Mutchnick also said that in the inner cities, there is greater risk for becoming infected with the virus than in urban areas, which provide a higher risk than rural areas.

Though the exact cause of blacks resistance to Hepatitis C treatment is unknown, Mutchnick said, “It seems to be genetic.”

Mutchnick also added that it seems to have something to do with the individual’s ability to mount an immune response to the virus.

Dr. Mutchnick and WSU Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine Dr. Firdous Siddiqui recently led the WSU branch of the WIN-R (Weight-Based Dosing of PegIntron and Rebetol) Study.

The study began in 2000 and involved hundreds of cities across the United States. Mutchnick brought the study to WSU and added that “Dr. Siddiqui did most of the work,” as far as hands-on research.

The WIN-R study took approximately four years to complete. However, as a result of WSU’s findings, a more effective way of treating blacks with chronic Hepatitis C was discovered.

When blacks were given a weight-based dose of ribavirin in combination with peginterferon as part of the WIN-R study, twice as many were able to clear the virus than had successfully responded to flat dose treatments.

When asked how it was decided upon to test a weight-based dosage of ribavirin combined with peginterferon, Dr. Mutchnick explained how the combination of ribavirin and peginterferon works.

The pegylated form of interferon stays in the blood longer, he explained, and ribavirin is needed in order for the patient to experience the full effect of the interferon. With old treatments, injections caused greater fluctuation within the bloodstream and would not remain within the blood to combat the virus for as long as the new treatments allow. The peginterferon injection and ribavirin, taken orally as pills, currently lasts for five to seven days.

The newest findings on the effects of weight-based treatments of peginterferon on black patients were presented as part of the 55th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

They provide new hope for patients who may benefit from the new treatment where they resisted the old. However, WSU will continue to test newer forms of treatment as they become available, Mutchnick said, so that as many chronic Hepatitis C patients as possible may have access to effective treatment.

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December 8th, 2004

Hepatitis C Tests Encouraged
SourceURL:http://www.number-10.gov.uk/

A new £2m campaign to raise awareness of hepatitis C has been unveiled by England's Chief Medical Officer. The 'FaCe It' poster and leaflet campaign will help to explain how the virus is spread and how to avoid infection.

It's supported by a free and confidential advice line, 0800 451451 and a website. The campaign aims to encourage those who may be, or have been, at risk of contracting the virus to find out more about getting tested.

Sir Liam Donaldson said that the campaign is vital because there are about 200,000 people in England infected and the majority are unaware of their infection.

"Hepatitis C has emerged as an significant public health challenge over recent years, which is why we need to intensify efforts to prevent new cases and to diagnose and treat those who are already infected."

Many people have no symptoms, while others may feel tired and have mild abdominal discomfort. Patients respond to treatment in about 55 per cent of cases, which is why it is so important for people who may have been at risk to get tested.

As many as 4 in ten people are able to clear their infections naturally, within six months. For the remainder, hepatitis C is a chronic infection that can span several decades and lead to serious liver disease.

Hepatitis C is usually spread by direct blood to blood contact with an infected person, for example, through the sharing of needles or syringes. Others at risk include those who had a blood transfusion before screening for Hep C was introduced in 1991.

It can also be spread, but less commonly, through unprotected sex, tattoos and body piercing.

A pack full essential facts about hepatitis C has been sent to primary care professionals to help them offer advice about the infection and testing for patients who may have been at risk.

Extra information

The hepatitis C information line 0800 451451 (textphone 0800 0850859) is open from 10am-10pm, seven days a week.
The National Health Service hepatitis C awareness website
http://www.hepc.nhs.uk/

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How I Live with Hepatitis C
SourceURL:http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk

The UK government is to launch a major campaign to raise awareness of the liver disease hepatitis C. One man describes living with the infection.

Michael, now 53, found out he had the hepatitis C virus 11 years ago.

He believes he caught the infection, which can cause fatal liver problems, from a blood transfusion he had to treat his haemophilia.

Like many people with hepatitis C, dubbed the silent killer, Michael did not have any symptoms and only found out when he had a blood test while in hospital for something else.

Since being diagnosed Michael, from Norwich, says he has experienced prejudice and ignorance about his condition.

Stigma
"There is a terrific stigma attached with the virus.

"It's associated with alcohol and the low life element.

"A lot of my friends luckily have been good. But you have some and you do not hear from them again."

“It's been absolutely devastating.”—Michael

The virus is carried in the blood, and people with the infection can pass it on if their blood gets under the skin or into the bloodstream of another person.

Examples of how this might happen include intravenous drug users sharing syringes.

For this reason, it has been seen by some as a condition that only occurs in a minority of society, such as drug addicts.

But many people with the virus have caught it after experimenting with drugs only once in young adulthood and other possible routes of transmission are tattooing, body piercing, and through sexual contact, as the virus can be present in bodily fluids such as semen.

Blood donations in the United Kingdom have been screened for hepatitis C since September 1991.

The 'silent killer'
Michael said his doctors told him it is likely he has had hepatitis C since the early 70s.

"I felt shocked when they told me I had hepatitis C. When you are told you have got something that can be fatal it is devastating.

"I was quite a senior executive for a furniture manufacturer at the time.

"I travelled around the world and I was up for a promotion.

"It blew away my career. Financially literally and financially I have lost £300,000.

"My wife now has to work full time now, whereas before I was the main earner. We have got two teenagers. It's been absolutely devastating.

"I count myself lucky that so far it has not been devastating health-wise.

"I work now as a postman. I walk more than 70 miles a week and if I can do that then I figure the virus is not going to get me."

He said many of the friends he had met with hepatitis C had died from the disease.

Modern treatments can control the disease in some patients, particularly if it is diagnosed early.

But if liver damage is severe, then a transplant may be the only option.

The shortage of organs for transplantation means patients may have to wait some time before one becomes available.

Even when the liver is replaced, this does not cure the virus - the virus infects the new liver and will eventually start to damage it in the same way.

Michael said: "The government needs to address this. It's so important. It's no good people turning up 20 years too late with end-stage liver failure."

He urged anyone who thought they might have been in a situation where they could have caught the virus to visit their GP to be tested.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi
/health/4076883.stm

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December 9th, 2004

Japan: New Antiviral Injection PegIntron for Chronic Hepatitis C Treatment, Schering-Plough
SourceURL:http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/

Schering-Plough Introduces New Antiviral Injection PegIntron for Chronic Hepatitis C Treatment - Tokyo (JCNN) - Schering-Plough has announced that it has released PegIntron, a pegylated interferon preparation used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection.

On Oct. 22 PEG-INTRON received marketing approval in Japan from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) following a priority review. The product became available on Dec. 8 upon National Health Insurance Reimbursement price listing.

In combination with Rebetol, Schering-Plough's existing antiviral drug, PegIntron, with a weekly injection, shows a beneficial effect on patients with genotype 1 hepatitis C virus infection.

Hepatitis C is the leading cause in Japan of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma, which is associated with more than 30,000 deaths there annually. Hepatitis C is the most common reason for liver transplant in major world markets, including Japan, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)

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December 10th, 2004

Dynavax Hepatitis Vaccine Beats Glaxo Rival in Older Patients Trial
SourceURL:http://uk.biz.yahoo.com

Data from an interim analysis of Dynavax Technologies (NASDAQ: DVAX - news) ' phase II/III hepatitis B vaccine trial showed the vaccine to be statistically superior in protective antibody response and robustness of protective effect compared to GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK.L - news - msgs) 's Engerix-B vaccine in a difficult to treat older patient population.

Data from an interim analysis of Dynavax Technologies' phase II/III hepatitis B vaccine trial showed the vaccine to be statistically superior in protective antibody response and robustness of protective effect compared to GlaxoSmithKline's Engerix-B vaccine in a difficult to treat older patient population.

The primary endpoint of the ongoing phase II/III trial is seroprotection four weeks after administration of the third dose. Based on these positive interim results, as well as previously reported data showing that Dynavax' hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine induced more rapid immunogenicity and more durable protective response compared to Engerix-B in healthy young adults, Dynavax intends to pursue a broad phase III clinical program in multiple age groups, anticipated to begin in mid-2005.

Dynavax' HBV vaccine combines its proprietary immunostimulatory sequence (ISS (Copenhagen: ISS.CO - news) ) co-administered with HBV surface antigen (HBsAg), designed to significantly enhance the level, speed and longevity of protection. The study is being conducted by Dr Lim Seng Gee at the National University Hospital, and Dr Chow Wan Cheng, at the Singapore General Hospital. The phase II/III trial should be completed in mid-2005.

"These positive interim phase II/III results strengthen our confidence that our HBV vaccine can provide important advantages in terms of rapidity and level of seroprotection in an adult population known to be difficult to immunize, and increase our belief that our vaccine represents a significant commercial opportunity for our company," said Dr Dino Dina, president and CEO.

"We believe that Dynavax' HBV vaccine has the potential to change vaccination practices, establish new industry standards of effectiveness, and provide significant public health and pharmacoeconomic benefits."

In November 2004, Dynavax presented data from a randomized, double-blind phase II clinical trial of the company's prophylactic HBV vaccine conducted in young adults (18-28 years) that showed superior results compared to GlaxoSmithKline's Engerix-B vaccine. Protective antibody responses were achieved faster and were maintained longer with Dynavax' HBV vaccine than with Engerix-B.

Dynavax is currently evaluating commercialization and distribution strategies for the vaccine in countries outside the US. In 2003, Dynavax and Berna Biotech (Zurich: BBIN.S - news) , of Switzerland, entered into a clinical and commercial supply agreement for HBV surface antigen. Dynavax estimates the HBV vaccine market outside of the US to be approximately $500 million.

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Md. Hepatitis C May Be From Medical Tests
SourceURL:http://news.yahoo.com/news
By KASEY JONES,
Associated Press Writer

BALTIMORE - A company that makes substances used in some common medical tests has suspended operations at a nuclear pharmacy in Maryland as state and federal health officials investigate several cases of hepatitis C in the Baltimore area, authorities said Thursday.

Those who contracted the disease may have received injections from the same vial of a tracer agent prepared at a Cardinal Health Inc. facility in Timonium, company spokesman Jim Mazzola said.

"From what we understand, there is a possible commonality of a single vial of tracer agent," Mazzola said from Dublin, Ohio, where Cardinal Health is based.

State officials did not say how many people developed the liver disease, but Mazzola said the substance was administered to "no more than 16 patients" on Oct. 15.

The substance is among several common factors in the hepatitis C cases that are being investigated, said Karen Black, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Nuclear pharmacies, which serve hospitals and imaging centers, make tracer agents that are injected into patients and then scanned or tracked through their bodies. Common tests include checking for arterial blockages, Mazzola said.

Mazzola said Cardinal has been cooperating with the department and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

State health officials have contacted hospitals to ask that they report any hepatitis C cases immediately, Black said.

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by a virus. It can be transmitted when blood or body fluids from an infected person enter the body of a person who is not infected. It causes between 8,000 deaths and 10,000 deaths in the United States each year, according to the CDC.

If left untreated, hepatitis C can result in liver damage, which can lead to serious conditions such as liver cancer or cirrhosis

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The Silent Specter of HCV
SourceURL:http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/
Yomiuri Shimbun

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry's disclosure Thursday that more than 6,600 medical facilities administered hepatitis-tainted blood products has sent a shiver down the spines of people who might have received the coagulant known as fibrinogen over the past 20 years yet remain unaware they may have contracted the disease.

Hepatitis support groups have been swamped with calls from people who have shown symptoms of liver cancer or hepatic cirrhosis. Medical officials have called again for people to be checked for the virus at least once during their life, as the disease can, if left unattended, develop into potentially fatal liver cancer and cirrhosis.

In one case, a woman in her 30s from the Kansai region had a swelling removed from the back of her head in the summer of 2001, and a blood test conducted during the procedure tested positive for the hepatitis C virus.

When questioned by the doctor if she ever had major surgery or any serious injuries, she could think of no such operation that might have led to her contracting the disease, leaving her and the doctor baffled about the source of infection.

In winter that year, the woman glimpsed a clear medicine bottle on a television program about HCV, a bottle that looked familiar and jogged her memory back to almost 20 years ago when she gave birth to twins.

When she delivered her twins, her doctor half-jokingly said she lost twice the usual amount of blood during labor because there were two babies. The woman remembered her doctor saying, "If the bleeding doesn't stop, we'll give you a blood transfusion."

After being hooked up to a third such medicine bottle via an intravenous drip, the woman suddenly started shivering and felt like she might even lose consciousness. Doctors halted the IV treatment because her shaking would not stop.

About a month later, she developed symptoms of acute hepatitis, but at the time these were put down to the stress of giving birth.

It was only when she saw the medicine bottle on the program that she considered the possibility she might have contracted the disease through a tainted coagulant.

Although infected with HCV, the woman is a carrier who does not display any symptoms of the disease. Since being diagnosed as having HCV, she has blood tests twice a year to detect for the onset of the disease. She shudders at the prospect of what might have happened if she did not realize she had contracted HCV until it was too late.

Fibrinogen is widely used as a hemostatic agent to stop bleeding during labor, but many women do not have health checks after they give birth.

A nagging fear about developing symptoms follows the woman around like a shadow. "I doubt it would occur to many women to even think that this could happen during treatment to stop bleeding during childbirth," the woman said. "I'm sure many people out there are completely unaware they have contracted the disease."

Free checkups available
HCV examinations can be carried out in medical checks in accordance with the Elderly Health Law and checks covered by government-managed health insurance.

Health checks provided by municipalities mostly target women and self-employed people. The checks basically are conducted every five years on people aged between 40 and 70, although people aged over 40 can receive checkups at other times in certain circumstances, such as if they lost a lot of blood during childbirth.

Medical checks covered by government-managed health insurance, to which employees of small and midsize companies can join, mostly are for people aged 35 and over. The ministry has instructed companies to join health insurance societies that offer medical checks, but it remains unclear to what extend such checks are conducted by the societies.

At public health centers, people aged 40 and above can receive hepatitis checks free of charge if taken at the same time as an examination for HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.

Checks taken at medical facilities when symptoms are apparent are covered by medical insurance. However, if no symptoms are detected, examination fees--which usually run to several thousand yen--must be met by the patient.

Support groups ready to help
The Japan Hepatitis Council, a group based in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, that provides assistance to hepatitis sufferers, receives more than 2,000 calls annually from people seeking information or advice on the disease. But in the one-year period to August, the group had received 2,913 such inquiries, about 70 percent of which were questions about HCV. Some even claim to suffer discrimination at their workplace because of their condition.

Joji Takabatake, the 69-year-old secretary general of the council, said, "It's possible that anybody who had medical treatment up until the 1980s could have contracted the hepatitis C virus."

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December 11th, 2004

Hospital Seeks Patients Exposed to Hepatitis C
SourceURL:http://abclocal.go.com
Associated Press

(12/11/04 - EL PASO, TX) -- With eight cases of hepatitis C confirmed, officials at Beaumont Army Medical Center are looking for 60 others who had surgery there earlier this year and might have contracted the disease.

Since identifying two cases in early October, the hospital staff and about 150 people who had surgery there from July through October have been tested.

"The records review and subsequent testing of individuals ... was conducted to ensure the best possible care for those exposed and to assure patient and worker safety," Col. James Leech, Beaumont's commander, told the El Paso Times for its Saturday editions.

Beaumont officials are not sure how two patients originally diagnosed with hepatitis C became infected. How others contracted the virus is being investigated.

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by a virus. It can be transmitted when blood or body fluids from an infected person enter the body of a person who is not infected. It causes between 8,000 deaths and 10,000 deaths in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If left untreated, hepatitis C can result in liver damage, which can lead to serious conditions such as liver cancer or cirrhosis.

Leech said that Beaumont officials immediately alerted the El Paso City-County Health and Environment District and that the CDC also sent personnel to study the situation.

Dr. William Bower of the CDC said Beaumont took the appropriate steps when it identified the virus in its patients.

"The work they did has placed the risk factor here at zero at this point," Bower said.

Bower and other U.S. Army medical officials are at Beaumont investigating the origin of the virus.

Leech said the eight people -- including one staff member who no longer has contact with patients -- are being treated.