Hepatitis C

Like Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C (HCV) is a disease of the liver. HCV is not as transmissible as HBV in the instance of a needlestick injury. However, HCV is also a very serious disease, and it is important to be knowledgeable and aware of the risks. Much like HBV, HCV can both be acute and chronic. An HCV infection does not present any symptoms in 70 to 80 percent of the people who have an acute infection. The remaining individuals who display symptoms experience the same set of symptoms as those of HBV:

• Fever
• Fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Dark urine
• Discolored bowel movements
• Joint pain
• Jaundice

On average, these symptoms occur within six to seven weeks of exposure, though they could occur any time between two weeks and six months of exposure.

Chronic HCV infection is the most common reason for liver transplants in the United States and is the leading cause of liver cancer and cirrhosis. Every year, it is estimated that nineteen thousand people in the United States die from an HCV-related liver disease.

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