What are the causes of Hepatitis C?
Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The disease affects about 4.1 million1 people in the United States and about 170 million people worldwide2, making it much more common than HIV infection in both the US3 and around the globe4. Because hepatitis C often has no symptoms, many people do not know they have the disease and may be infecting others.5 You may want to watch our video “What is Hepatitis C”. Leading Cause of Liver Disease. In fact, hepatitis C is now the leading cause of liver disease in the United States and the number one reason for liver transplantation.6 The number of people with chronic HCV infection is expected to increase fourfold from 1990-2015.7 Each year, about 10,000 to 12,000 people die from the disease.8 The virus enters the liver cells and uses their inner genetic machinery to make copies of itself. Those copies then infect more cells, and the cycle repeats. In 15-25% of cases, the infection is acute, meaning it is cleared spontan
As said earlier, Hepatitis C is caused by a virus called Hepatitis C virus. It enters our system through one of the following modes: a. Blood transfusion b. Surgery c. Dialysis for kidney disease d. Tattoos e. Infected syringe f. Sexual intercourse with infected partner Screening of blood for Hepatitis C virus used for blood transfusion was not mandatory before the year 1994, in most countries. So, many of the patients who had one of the above exposures are at risk of getting Hepatitis C. They need to be screened to rule our Hepatitis C. For more information on Hepatitis C, please click: http://www.e-hepatitis-c.com/app/hepatitis-c.
