An Overview
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease of the Liver. Worldwide, health experts estimate 180 million people have chronic hepatitis C, with more than 4 million of these cases in the United States.
Cause
Hepatitis C is caused by Infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). This virus causes chronic (long-term) infection in more than 85 percent of infected people, often leading to chronic liver disease. HCV is unrelated to any of the other known hepatitis viruses (A, B, D, and E).
Transmission
You can get HCV from infected blood or body fluids. Today, the most common mode of transmission is needle-sharing during Intravenous drug use, and most new infections now occur among intravenous drug users.
Since 1992, when reliable blood screening procedures became available, the risk of transmission of HCV via blood Transfusion has fallen to less than one per million units of transfused blood, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Rarely, the virus can be transmitted through sexual intercourse. In addition, an infected pregnant woman can infect her unborn baby.
Symptoms
Most people with acute (short-term) or chronic hepatitis C have few, if any symptoms and are not even aware they are infected. If symptoms are present, they may include
* Tiredness
* Dark urine
* Jaundice (yellow discoloration of the eyes, skin, etc.)
* Loss of appetite
* Pain in the abdomen
* Nausea
Diagnosis
Your health care provider can find out whether you have hepatitis C by giving you a blood test.
Treatment
If you have been diagnosed with hepatitis C infection, your healthcare provider will examine you for liver disease and prescribe medicine to eliminate the virus from your blood. Two medicines are used to treat hepatitis C: Interferon and ribavirin. Most health experts advise using both drugs together. The response to treatment varies from individual to individual.
Prevention
Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent hepatitis C infection. But you can take precautions to protect yourself against becoming infected with hepatitis C virus and to prevent passing on the virus to others.
CDC recommends that you
* Do not share personal care items that might have blood on them, such as razors or toothbrushes.
* Do not shoot drugs; if you shoot drugs, stop and get into a treatment program; if you can't stop, never share needles, syringes, water, or "works," and get vaccinated against Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B.
* Consider the risks if you are thinking about getting a tattoo or body piercing. You might get infected if the tools have someone else's blood on them or if the artist or piercer does not follow good health practices.
* Do not donate blood, organs, or tissue if you have hepatitis C.
HCV can be spread by sex, but this is rare. If you are having sex with more than one partner, using latex condoms correctly and every time you have sex may help prevent the spread of HCV. You should also get vaccinated against hepatitis B.
Healthcare or public safety workers should always follow special precautions when handling needles and other sharp instruments and get vaccinated against hepatitis B.
Most people who are infected with HCV have no symptoms even though they may have been infected several years earlier. Therefore, it is important for people at high risk for getting infected to be tested for HCV so they can start treatment as early as possible. High risk groups include
* People who had transfusions of blood or blood products before routine blood screening began
* People receiving dialysis
* People who have had intimate contact with anyone infected with HCV
Complications
HCV damages the liver. Of people infected with HCV, 55 to 85 percent develop chronic infection and 75 percent of those with chronic infection develop chronic liver disease.
The symptoms of liver damage may not appear for several years. If you have chronic hepatitis C, your healthcare provider may need to do a liver Biopsy to diagnose chronic liver disease. Unfortunately, by the time a provider diagnoses serious liver disease, liver damage can be considerable and even irreversible. This damage often results in end-stage liver disease, cirrhosis, or liver Cancer.
Because other hepatitis viruses and alcohol use are associated with faster progression of the disease, health experts advise infected people to avoid drinking alcohol and to be vaccinated against hepatitis A and hepatitis B viruses.
