Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a viral disease that leads to inflammation of the liver. Since the virus has few if any symptoms, most people don't know they have the disease until years later when a routine medical test reveals liver damage. If untreated, a hepatitis C infection can eventually lead to irreversible and potentially fatal health problems such as liver cancer, liver failure or cirrhosis.
There is currently no vaccine for hepatitis C. Researchers continue to work towards developing a treatment to slow or stop the growth of the virus and prevent long-term complications.
Signs and Symptoms
Early-stage signs and symptoms
Although there are generally no early symptoms, mild and flu-like symptoms can sometimes occur, such as:
- Fatigue
- Lack of appetite or nausea
- Nausea and vomiting
- Persistent or recurring yellowing of your skin and eyes (jaundice)
- Low-grade fever
Later stage signs and symptoms
Few if any symptoms develop even in the later stages of the disease. However, one or more of the following may occur:
- Fatigue
- Lack of appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Persistent or recurring yellowing of your skin and eyes (jaundice)
- Low-grade fever
Hepatitis C is a very serious, highly contagious disease. Anyone who engages in risky behavior or thinks he or she may have been exposed is encouraged to be tested as early as possible.
Causes and Risk Factors
Unlike the HIV virus, hepatitis C usually isn't transmitted through sexual contact but rather through contaminated blood as a result of sharing needles or blood transfusions. Blood screening tests became available in 1992, resulting in a significant decline in occurences of the virus from blood transfusions since then. The government also instituted needle exchange programs, which increased the availability of sterile needles in order to reduce the risk of hepatitis C, HIV and other blood-borne diseases. In rare cases, hepatitis C may be transmitted sexually.
Those at risk of hepatitis C:
- Anyone who has used illicit intravenous (IV) or intranasal drugs, such as cocaine
- Recipients of organ transplants prior to 1992
- Health care workers who have been exposed to infected blood
- Recipients of clotting factor concentrates before 1987 or individuals with hemophilia who received blood before 1992
- Anyone receiving hemodialysis for kidney failure
- Children born to women infected with hepatitis C