Hepatitis C

What is Hepatitis C?

Hepatitis C is an infectious disease. Hepatitis C virus is caused by HCV And affects the liver. Its infection is often asymptomatic. But once there is Hepatitis C, long-term infection can rapidly lead to cirrhosis due to liver damage. Which usually appears after many years. In some cases, some of the patients suffering from cirrhosis may have liver cancer.

Hepatitis C virus spreads by blood. After the initial infection, in most people, if any, there are few symptoms, However, 85% of the virus in the patient remains in the liver. Treatment of persistent infections can be cured. More than 91 percent are completely cured. Those who have cirrhosis or liver cancer, They require liver transplantation and only after the transplant the virus goes completely.

According to an estimate, 270-300 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C. Hepatitis C is completely human disease. It can not be obtained from any other animal. no can it be given to them. Chimpanzees can be infected with this virus in the laboratory but they do not get the disease, Which made the experiment more difficult. There is no vaccine available for hepatitis C.

Signs and Symptoms:

Acute

The acute hepatitis C refers to the first 6 months of infection with HCV. 60% to 70% of infected people do not show any symptoms during the acute phase. A small number of patients feel the symptoms of acute phase, They are usually mild and simple and sometimes help in diagnosing hepatitis C. Infections of acute hepatitis C include less hunger, fatigue, abdominal pain, jaundice, itching, and flu. The highest rate of recovery is 81% and 74% respectively In Hep C Genotypes 2A and 3A.

Chronic

If the infection of hepatitis C virus is more than six months, then it is called Chronic Hepatitis. Clinically, it is often asymptomatic (without symptoms) and often it is detected in a casual way (such as general examination).

Symptoms of liver disease are usually absent, especially unless there is a real loss in the liver. Extensive symptoms associated with chronic hepatitis C include fatigue, flu symptoms, lump, itching, Nightmare, dark urine, loss of appetite, nausea, and depression.

In case of high pressure on liver transmission, Chronic hepatitis C reaches the position of Cirrhosis. This condition is called portal hypertension.

Transmission Of Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is transmitted through blood-to-blood contact with someone infected with HCV. It can be spread through:

• Blood Transfusions
• Organ Transplants
• Injection drug use (Currently the most common means of transmission of HCV in the United States.)
• Received donated blood, blood products, and organs.
• Needle wound during health service.
• Birth from HCV infected mother.
• Tattoos

HCV can sometimes spread through these mediums too.

• Sexual contact with HCV infected person.

Hepatitis C Tests

Testing hepatitis C helps prevent damage in your liver. If your doctors think that you may have Hepatitis C, they can give instructions for doing the following tests.

• Hepatitis C virus test, it is a blood test that searches the body's antibodies against hepatitis C virus. This shows that you have come in contact with the hepatitis C virus or not. This is a rapid test, which gives results in 20 minutes.
• The blood test which searches for RNA of hepatitis C virus. With the help of this test, it is detected that whether you are infected with virus or not. 
• Blood test, which helps you identify the type of Hepatitis C virus that infects you. Knowing this helps your doctor to decide how to be treated if treatment can be done.

Hepatitis C Treatment

Hepatitis C virus is an old infection of 50% to 80% of people. Of these, the 50% treatment does not give any response. Long-term HCV carriers have a very little chance to eliminate this virus (0.5% to 0.74% per year). However, in most cases of chronic hepatitis C, it will not end without treatment.

Hepatitis C infection is treated with antiviral medicine, The purpose of which is to remove the virus from your body. The goal of treatment is that there should be no Hepatitis C virus in your body after at least 12 weeks of treatment. Researchers have recently discovered new treatments for hepatitis C, This allows people to experience better results, less side effects, and short-term remedies. The time of medicines and treatment depends on genotype of hepatitis C, current liver damage, other medical history, and prior treatment.

Liver Transplant

If you have serious complications with hepatitis C infection, Then liver transplantation may be an option of treatment. During liver transplants, surgeons replace your damage liver and replace it with a healthy liver.

Vaccine

There is no vaccine for hepatitis C, Your doctor may advise you to get Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B virus vaccines. These are also viruses that can damage the liver and can cause complications in Chronic Hepatitis C.