Hepatitis C
What is Hepatitis C?
Hepatitis C is a contagious liver infection caused by the Hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus. Today, most people become infected with the HCV by sharing needles or other equipment to inject drugs. For some people, HCV is a short-term illness but for 70%–85% of people who become infected with Hepatitis C, it becomes a long-term, chronic infection.
Chronic Hepatitis C is a serious disease that can result in long-term health problems, even death. The majority of infected persons might not be aware of their infection because they are not clinically ill. There is no vaccine for Hepatitis C. The best way to prevent Hepatitis C is by avoiding behaviors that can spread the disease, especially injecting drugs.
How is hepatitis C spread?
Most often, Hepatitis C is spread when blood from a person infected with the hepatitis C virus enters the body of someone who is not infected. Today, most people become infected with the hepatitis C virus by sharing needles or other equipment to prepare or inject drugs. Before 1992, hepatitis C was also commonly spread through blood transfusions and organ transplants. After that, widespread screening of the blood supply in the United States virtually eliminated this source of infection.
People can become infected with the hepatitis C virus during such activities as:
- Sharing needles, syringes, or other equipment to prepare or inject drugs
- Needle stick injuries in health care settings
- Being born to a mother who has hepatitis C
- Sharing personal care items that may have come in contact with another person’s blood, such as razors or toothbrushes
- Having sexual contact with a person infected with the hepatitis C virus
- Getting a tattoo or body piercing in an unregulated setting
Hepatitis C virus is not spread by sharing eating utensils, breastfeeding, hugging, kissing, holding hands, coughing, or sneezing. It is also not spread through food or water.
Screening/Testing
Your doctor can test for hepatitis C with a simple blood test. Risk factors for HCV include having received a blood transfusion or organ transplant before 1992, healthcare workers who may be exposed to needlesticks, or injecting drug users. Other risk factors are sharing personal items (razors, toothbrushes) with HCV patients and high-risk sexual behaviors. People who are HIV positive or infants born to mothers with hepatitis C are also at increased risk.
Treatment
Depending on the stage of your hepatitis C, there are different options for treatment. HCV treatments are effective and have minimal side effects. The first line is usually antiviral medications, which work at clearing the virus from your body. These are taken for 12-24 weeks and may be different drug combinations based upon your HCV genotype. If taken properly, this treatment can cure more than 90% of people with HCV, reducing the chances of severe complications or death.
In rare cases, if you have serious complications from a chronic hepatitis C infection, you may need a liver transplant.
Prevention
There are vaccinations against hepatitis A and B, but not for hepatitis C, though infections from the A and B strains may complicate hepatitis C infections. Other prevention methods include not using intravenous drugs, making sure all tattoos and piercings are from licensed practitioners, practicing safe sex, and not sharing personal care items that may have blood on them.
