Hepatitis C is a virus spread through infected blood that can hurt the liver over time, but simple screening tests can find it early, and today’s treatments can cure most people.
It’s respiratory virus season: that jolly time of year when people get Covid, flu, respiratory syncytial virus, and all the other viruses that cause the annual winter surge of sickness. ‘Tis the season to remember all the things we can do to prevent spreading illness and keep ourselves safe: wash hands, stay hydrated, get rest, mask up, and (of course) get vaccinated! However, let’s not forget about the viruses that stick around all year long. One such sometimes forgotten virus: Hepatitis C.
Hepatitis C is a virus that can infect the liver and cause short term (called acute) or long term (called chronic) infections. Acute infection occurs in the first six months after being exposed. Most people have no symptoms but some people may have yellowing of their skin or eyes, nausea, dark urine, and pain in the right upper part of their bellies. About 55-85% of people infected with hepatitis C will go on to develop chronic infection. Of those, 5-30% will develop severe scarring of the liver, called cirrhosis, over their lifetime and those folks have a 1-5% risk per year of developing liver cancer.
Hepatitis C is the most common chronic infection spread by blood in the US and is one of the leading causes of severe liver disease. It impacts 2 to 4 million Americans and about 1 in 3 people who have the infection don’t know they have it. It is also curable! This is a BIG DEAL. Just a few short years ago, curing the infection was a lot harder, required months of very unpleasant injection medications, and only worked about 50% of the time. Now, there are medicines called direct acting antivirals that cure the virus in about 95% of people with hepatitis C in about 8 to 12 weeks of oral medications!
Hepatitis C is spread by coming into contact with infected blood. In the US, this is typically sharing needles to inject drugs. However, there are other ways too. This includes being born to a pregnant person who has hepatitis C, exposure to infected blood or needles in healthcare settings, tattoos or piercings with unsterilized equipment, sharing a razor or toothbrush with someone who might have bled while using it, or having sex with someone who has hepatitis C.
So who should be tested and screened? The United States Preventive Services Task Force, the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America all agree that all adults between 18 and 79 years old should be screened at least once. Why? The disease is prevalent, causes significant health problems, is easily detected by a blood test, and is treatable! Folks who are at higher risk of being exposed to infected blood should get screened more often. These include people who inject drugs and share needles or syringes and people with certain higher risk medical conditions like HIV infection or get hemodialysis for kidney disease.
What else can you do to protect yourself from hepatitis C? Avoid sharing needles, wear gloves while handling items contaminated with blood and wash your hands well after, practice safe sex, and go to regulated and reputable tattoo and piercing parlors.
For this New Year, consider adding hepatitis C screening to your healthcare prevention plan. And maybe skip that homemade tattoo this year. 😉
Tl;dr: Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver and can cause both short-term (acute) and long-term (chronic) disease. It is spread through contact with infected blood and often has no symptoms for many years. Without treatment, it can lead to serious complications, including liver inflammation, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and even death. Routine screening helps identify the infection early, and highly effective treatments are now available that can cure most people with hepatitis.
