Hepatitis C is a contagious liver disease that attacks the liver. It ranges from an acute illness lasting a few weeks to a chronic, lifelong illness. Hepatitis C is caused by infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). It spreads mainly through contact with the blood of an infected person.
Acute hepatitis C virus infection is a short-term illness. It occurs within the first 6 months after someone is exposed to the hepatitis C virus. In 80% of people, acute infection leads to chronic infection.
Chronic hepatitis C virus infection is a long-term illness. It occurs when the hepatitis C virus remains in a person’s body. Hepatitis C virus infection can last a lifetime and lead to serious liver problems. These include cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) or liver cancer.
The best way to prevent hepatitis C is by avoiding behaviors that can spread the disease. One of the main behaviors that leads to hepatitis C is injecting drugs. The hepatitis C virus can survive outside the body at room temperature for up to 2 months!
It is currently recommended that all adults get tested for hepatitis C at least once in their life. There is no vaccine available for hepatitis C.
Some people are at increased risk for hepatitis C, including:
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- Travelers to certain countries that have higher rates of hepatitis C
- Recipients of donated blood, blood products/clotting factors, and organs
- (Once a common means of transmission; now rare in the U.S. since blood screening became available in 1992)
- People born between 1945 – 1965
- Due to changes in universal precautions in health care facilities
- People who received body piercings or tattoos in unregulated facilities with non-sterile equipment
- Persons on dialysis
- Current or past injection or intranasal drug use
- Health care workers with needle-stick injuries
- Persons living with HIV
- Children born to mothers infected with the hepatitis C virus
