What Is Hepatitis C - Article Health

Hepatitis C is a serious and often-silent liver infection caused by the hepatitis C virus. It is one of five main types of hepatitis (the other four are hepatitis A, B, and the less-common D and E). Hepatitis C is transmitted when an infected person’s blood enters a healthy person’s bloodstream, for example, via contaminated needles (including unsterilized tattoo needles), accidental needlesticks in healthcare workers, and less often, unprotected sex.

Sometimes hepatitis C is fleeting, in which case the body gets rid of it on its own within a few months of a person’s exposure to the virus. More often, though, the infection quietly lingers, causing the liver to become inflamed. When this happens, severe liver scarring, called cirrhosis, can occur. Chronic hepatitis C may lead to liver cancer, liver failure, and death.

Acute hepatitis C
Acute hepatitis C is a viral infection that develops in the initial weeks or months after the hepatitis C virus (HCV) enters a person’s bloodstream. “Acute” means the illness is sudden and short-lived, occurring within the first two weeks to six months of infection.

Chronic hepatitis C
An estimated 75% to 85% of people with acute hepatitis C go on to develop chronic infection, lasting at least six months and often much longer. Even at this stage, most people do not experience symptoms. But that doesn’t mean the infection is benign. Years of infection can wreak havoc on the liver, and you may not even know it until problems with liver function begin to surface.

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