Hepatitis C Fact Sheet

• jaundice
• fatigue
• dark urine

• abdominal pain
• loss of appetite
• nausea

• Hepatitis C virus (HCV)

• Chronic infection: 55%-85% of infected persons
• Chronic liver disease: 70% of chronically infected persons
• Deaths from chronic liver disease: 1%-5% of infected persons may die
• Leading indication for liver transplant

• Occurs when blood from an infected person enters the body of a person who is not infected.
• HCV is spread through sharing needles or "works" when "shooting" drugs, through needlesticks or sharps exposures on the job, or from an infected mother to her baby during birth.

* Anyone who wants to get tested should ask their doctor.

• There is no vaccine to prevent hepatitis C.
• Do not shoot drugs; if you shoot drugs, stop and get into a treatment program; if you can't stop, never share needles, syringes, water, or "works," and get vaccinated against hepatitis A & B.
• Do not share personal care items that might have blood on them (razors, toothbrushes).
• If you are a health care or public safety worker, always follow routine barrier precautions and safely handle needles and other sharps; get vaccinated against hepatitis B.
• Consider the risks if you are thinking about getting a tattoo or body piercing. You might get infected if the tools have someone else's blood on them or if the artist or piercer does not follow good health practices.
• HCV can be spread by sex, but this is rare. If you are having sex with more than one steady sex partner, use latex condoms** correctly and every time to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. You should also get vaccinated against hepatitis B.
• If you are HCV positive, do not donate blood, organs, or tissue.

• HCV positive persons should be evaluated by their doctor for liver disease.
• Interferon and ribavirin are two drugs licensed for the treatment of persons with chronic hepatitis C.
• Interferon can be taken alone or in combination with ribavirin. Combination therapy, using pegylated interferon and ribavirin, is currently the treatment of choice.
• Combination therapy can get rid of the virus in up to 5 out of 10 persons for genotype 1 and in up to 8 out of 10 persons for genotype 2 or 3.
• Drinking alcohol can make your liver disease worse.

• Number of new infections per year has declined from an average of 240,000 in the 1980s to about 26,000 in 2004.
• Most infections are due to illegal injection drug use.
• Transfusion-associated cases occurred prior to blood donor screening; now occurs in less than one per 2 million transfused units of blood.
• Estimated 4.1 million (1.6%) Americans have been infected with HCV, of whom 3.2 million are chronically infected.
• The risk for perinatal HCV transmission is about 4%.
• If coinfected with HIV the risk of perinatal infection is about 19%.