Hepatitis C seems to progress more rapidly in Latinos and Latinas than people from other racial and ethnic groups. Pegylated interferon and ribavirin are less effective for Latinos and Latinas than Caucasians, partly due to IL-28B genotype. Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, which are common among Latinos and Latinas with hepatitis C may also contribute to low cure rates.

But there is good news: in clinical trials, adding Incivek, an HCV protease inhibitor, to pegylated interferon and ribavirin increased cure rates among treatment naive Latinos and Latinas from 39 percent to 66 to 74 percent.