Understanding Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)

Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. There are many kinds of hepatitis. Some are from infections and can be spread. Others are not. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be spread to other people. If untreated, it can lead to lifelong liver disease. This includes chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer.

Most people have no symptoms until they develop liver disease years later. Symptoms can include:

• Flu-like symptoms, such as fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and sore muscles and joints
• Sore feeling in the upper right abdomen
• Yellow color in skin and eyes (jaundice)
• Swelling in the belly
• Itching
• Confusion
• More bleeding than normal after a cut or scrape
• Dark yellow to brown urine
• Light-colored stool (gray or clay color)

HCV spreads through contact with an infected person's blood or body fluids that contain blood. High risk situations include:

• Sharing needles for I.V. drug use, tattoos, acupuncture, or body piercing
• A needle stick injury
• Sharing razors with someone known to have HCV
• You had sex without a condom with an infected person (a less common cause)
• Blood transfusions with unscreened blood (before 1986 in the United States)
• Sharing needles or drug tools (like snorting straws)
• Military service (in the 1960s and 1970s) or prison time

Experts advise people ages 18 to 79 to have at least one screening test. Screening is also advised for people born to mothers with HCV. Routine screening is recommended because:

• Nearly half of people diagnosed with HCV don't know how they got it
• You can have HCV for a long time and not know it because there may be few symptoms
• There are now very effective treatments for HCV

No vaccine can prevent the spread of HCV and hepatitis C. If you have HCV, it's up to you to protect other people from the virus.

Do's:

• Cover all of your skin breaks and sores. If you need help, the person helping you should wear latex gloves.
• Use condoms during sex.

Don'ts:

• Don't donate blood, plasma, body organs, other body tissue, or sperm.
• Don't share needles.
• Don't share razors, toothbrushes, manicure tools, or other personal items.