Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a viral infection that causes liver inflammation, sometimes leading to serious liver damage. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) spreads through contaminated blood.
Until recently, hepatitis C treatment required weekly injections and oral medications that many HCV-infected people couldn’t take because of other health problems or unacceptable side effects.
That’s changing. Today, chronic HCV is usually curable with oral medications taken every day for two to six months.
Still, about half of people with HCV don’t know they’re infected, mainly because they have no symptoms, which can take decades to appear. For that reason, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that all adults ages 18 to 79 years be screened for hepatitis C, even those without symptoms or known liver disease. The largest group at risk includes everyone born between 1945 and 1965 — a population five times more likely to be infected than those born in other years.
What is the prevalence of chronic hepatitis C infection in the United States?
An estimated 2.4 million people in the United States were living with hepatitis C during 2013–2016
Who is at risk for hepatitis C infection?
The following people are at increased risk for hepatitis C:
- People with HIV infection
- Current or former people who use injection drugs (PWID), including those who injected only once many years ago
- People with selected medical conditions, including those who ever received maintenance hemodialysis
- Prior recipients of transfusions or organ transplants, including people who received clotting factor concentrates produced before 1987, people who received a transfusion of blood or blood components before July 1992, people who received an organ transplant before July 1992, and people who were notified that they received blood from a donor who later tested positive for HCV infection
- Health care, emergency medical, and public safety personnel after needle sticks, sharps, or mucosal exposures to HCV-positive blood
- Children born to mothers with HCV infection