FDA approves Schering-Plough's Rebetol as hepatitis C treatment for children

TRENTON, N.J. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new hepatitis C treatment for use in children.

Schering-Plough Corp. said Friday that the FDA had approved Rebetol (ribavirin), a pill that uses a genetically engineered from of an immune system protein, for children aged 3 to 17.

The virus affects about 130,000 children in the United States, most of whom acquire it before birth from their mothers. The virus also can be spread through intravenous needles and unprotected sex. It has no vaccine or cure.