What Is Hepatitis C?
Hepatitis C is an infection of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV).
HCV can lead to liver failure, liver cancer, or chronic liver disease (cirrhosis),
and is a leading reason for liver transplants in the United States.
Some people with HCV have just a short-term illness because their bodies can get
rid of the virus. But most infected people (70%–85%) develop a chronic HCV infection.
How Do People Get Hepatitis C?
HCV spreads by direct contact with an infected person's blood and other body fluids.
This can happen through:
- sharing drug needles and intranasal (snorting) drug
devices
- getting a tattoo or body piercing with unsterilized tools
- sexual contact (although this is less common)
- passing of the infection from a pregnant woman to her unborn child
Children who have HCV most often acquired it as newborns from their mothers.
Thanks to blood screening and other health care precautions adopted in the early
1990s, the spread of HCV from hemodialysis, blood transfusions,
or organ transplants is now rare.
It's also rare, but possible, for someone to get HCV by sharing household items
that might contain an infected person's blood, such as razors, toothbrushes, or scissors.
Who Is at Risk for Hepatitis C?
HCV is more common in adults than in children. Rates of HCV infection in the United
States almost tripled from 2010 to 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC). Most of these new infections are in young people (20 to 29 years
old) who inject drugs — many of whom moved from abusing prescription pain relievers
(opioids) to injecting heroin,
which often is cheaper and easier to get.
Because women of reproductive age are part of this group, experts worry that more
newborns will be at risk for HCV.
What Is Chronic Hepatitis C?
Doctors refer to hepatitis C infections as either acute or chronic:
- An acute HCV infection is a short-term illness that clears within
6 months of when a person is exposed to the virus.
- A person who still has HCV after 6 months is said to have a chronic hepatitis
C infection. This is a long-term illness, meaning the virus stays in the
body and can cause lifelong illness. An estimated 3.2 million people in the U.S. have
chronic HCV.
What Are the Signs & Symptoms of HCV Infection?
Hepatitis C can be a "silent but deadly" infection. Most people with HCV have no
symptoms. But even without symptoms, they can develop health problems decades later
and can still pass the disease to others.
When symptoms do happen (usually when the disease is very advanced), they can be
similar to those of hepatitis
A and hepatitis B
and include:
- jaundice (when the skin and whites of the eyes look yellow)
- fever
- nausea, vomiting, and lack of appetite
- belly pain (on the upper right side)
- joint pain
- darker than usual urine (pee) or gray-colored stools
What Problems Can Hepatitis C Cause?
Hepatitis C is the most serious type of hepatitis. It's now one of the most common
reasons for liver transplants in adults. Every year, more people in the United States
die from HCV than from 60 other infectious diseases — including HIV,
pneumococcal pneumonia, and tuberculosis —
combined.
Fortunately, medicines can now treat people with hepatitis C and cure them in most
cases.