Are there different strains of the hepatitis C virus?
There are a few different strains (genotypes) of the hepatitis C virus, and some of them are more difficult to treat than others. A person with one strain of hepatitis C can be infected with other strains of the virus. This means that you may catch a different strain of hepatitis C each time you have contact with another person’s infected blood. Another problem is that each strain changes character slightly once in the body, which makes it difficult for the body to fight it. The body might fight off one form, but if the virus then changes character (mutates) the body must fight the mutation too. If you have more than one form of the virus on your liver your liver comes under added strain. What are the symptoms of hepatitis C? How your body is affected by hepatitis C depends on a variety of factors–how long you have had the virus, how many strains of the virus you have been infected with, how much of the virus you have in your system (viral load), your health, and so on. When you are f
