You May Be Infected With Hepatitis C? Here Are What You Need To Do

Hepatitis C: Course of Disease 

​Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can be acute or chronic, which means they can either develop immediately and last a short period of time, or develop slowly and instead worsen over a longer timespan.

Acute hepatitis C infections are typically asymptomatic, meaning they show no symptoms, with the majority of them not progressing to life-threatening situations. Within 6 months of infection, approximately 15-45% of infected people naturally eliminate the virus.

Chronic hepatitis C infection will occur in the remaining 55–85% of people. Cirrhosis is a condition in which the liver is scarred and permanently damaged, caused by various liver diseases including hepatitis C. For those with persistent hepatitis C infection over the course of 20 years, the risk of cirrhosis ranges from 15% to 30%.

Because initial HCV infections are generally silent, most infections are not detected upon the initial infection. The virus generally goes untreated in patients who acquire chronic HCV infection due to its asymptomatic nature, and only realise their condition decades later when certain hepatitis C symptoms appear as a result of substantial liver damage.

Diagnosis of Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C infection is diagnosed in two stages:

1. A blood test for anti-HCV antibodies diagnoses patients who have been infected with the virus.

2. A nucleic acid test for HCV ribonucleic acid (RNA) is required to confirm chronic infection if the anti-HCV antibody test is positive.

This enables distinguishing between people who have had an acute infection and cleared it off (but still have antibodies against hepatitis C) and those who still actively have a silent HCV infection that may be chronic. 

An evaluation should be performed when a person has been diagnosed with chronic HCV infection to identify the extent of liver damage (fibrosis and cirrhosis). This can be done by a liver biopsy or a range of non-invasive diagnostic tests.

The severity of liver damage is considered as a guide for therapy choices and disease management. Early detection of hepatitis C can help reduce infection-related health concerns as well as viral spread.

Hepatitis C: Who Needs to Get Tested?

Hepatitis C screening is recommended for all. However, some high-risk groups who are particularly vulnerable to hepatitis C are strongly recommended to undergo screening. This includes:

• Intravenous drug users

• Healthcare workers

• Individuals who received blood transfusions in the past

• Individuals who are in close contact with hepatitis c-positive persons such as sexual partners and family members

• Infants and children who were born to mothers with hepatitis C infection 

• Individuals with tattoos and piercings who had potentially received them from a place where the needle and equipment were not properly sterilized

• Individuals who had lived or received medical treatment from Hepatitis C high-risk area