The hepatitis C virus, commonly known as HCV, is a blood-born infectious disease. Hepatitis C infects the liver, causing liver inflammation ("hepatitis"), and eventually cirrhosis (fibrotic scarring of the liver), liver cancer and/or liver failure.

Hepatitis C transmission occurs through blood-to-blood contact, which can occur in multiple ways. The majority of known causes, approximately 60% according to the CDC, are related to use of needles for injections. Other potential means of HCV transmission include: blood products (blood transfusion, organ transplanation, etc.), medical exposure, occupational exposure, and sexual contact, recreational exposure, tattoos and body piercings, and shared personal care or hygiene items, and more.

Symptoms from a hepatitis C infection can be medically managed, and some patients may eventually be cleared of the hepatitis C infection with a long course of anti-viral medicines. Since many early symptoms are mild, if they are even existent or noticeable at all, many infected persons do not seek medical treatment early. It is estimated that between 150 to 200 million people are infected with hepatitis C, worldwide.



Treatment is available for those infected with hepatitis C. The current treatment involves a combination of begylated interferon alpha and antivirals, for a period of either 24 or 48 weeks, depending upon the patient's genotype. In addition to the possibility of clearance of the hepatitis C virus by treatment, there is also a rate of roughly 0.5% per year of spontaneous clearing of the virus in chronic HCV carriers.

There is currently no vaccine available against the hepatitis C virus. Hepatitis C is one of six known hepatitis viruses, with the others being hepatitis A (HAV), hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis D (HDV), hepatitis E (HEV) and hepatitis G (HGV).

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