Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus. Every year between 3 and 4 million are infected with hepatitis C worldwide. In Norway, hepatitis C accounts for the majority of hepatitis cases. There is no vaccine against hepatitis C, but the disease can be cured with medication.

What is Hepatitis C?

Hepatitis C is an infection of the liver with the hepatitis C virus. The hepatitis C virus exists in six variants: genotype 1-6. The disease can have very different courses, some get rid of the virus completely, while others can develop serious liver disease which in the worst case can be fatal. Worldwide, up to 500,000 people die of hepatitis C each year.

Causes of infection with hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is most often transmitted via blood that contains the virus, for example through the use of unclean syringes (which makes injection drug addicts extra vulnerable), stabbing accidents (for example healthcare personnel who stick themselves on the tip of a syringe during their professional practice) or unsafe blood transfusion. Children born to hepatitis C positive mothers can be infected, but the virus is not transmitted through breastfeeding. Hepatitis C can also be transmitted through sexual contact.

Symptoms of hepatitis C

75-80% of all those infected with hepatitis C do not develop symptoms at all, a so-called asymptomatic infection. Examples of symptoms of hepatitis C:

• Fever

• Laxity

• Stomach problems (pain, diarrhea and nausea)

• Jaundice (yellow skin and yellowing of the whites of the eye)

• Flu-like symptoms

• Dark urine and discolored stools

• Rash

• Joint pain

Hepatitis C infection becomes chronic in 50-80% of those infected. This leads to chronic inflammation of the liver which gradually develops into increasing liver damage with cirrhosis, liver failure and possibly liver cancer, but it is uncertain how many hepatitis C positive people are affected by this and after how long they are infected. It is estimated that the greatest liver damage can occur after as much as 20-30 years.

Treatment of hepatitis C

Not everyone who gets hepatitis C needs treatment; an acute infection with hepatitis C can go away on its own without treatment in 20-50% of those infected. It is therefore usual to wait at least 12 weeks after an acute infection with hepatitis C before treating the virus, if it is not out of the body.

If there is a need for treatment, antiviral drugs are usually used, but the treatment plan must be adapted to each individual as it depends on the type of virus, degree of liver damage, age, when you were infected, and any other diseases you have. The aim of using medicines for hepatitis C is to stop the destruction of the liver and prevent liver cancer. People with proven chronic hepatitis C should have their liver function checked regularly by a doctor. There is no vaccine against hepatitis C.

New treatment for hepatitis C is highly effective; over 95% of those infected can today recover completely. The treatment is safe and with few side effects.

Sources: World Health Organization