User:Mr. Ibrahem/Hepatitis C
Human viral infection / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Hepatitis C | |
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Electron micrograph of hepatitis C virus from cell culture (scale = 50 nanometers) | |
Specialty | Gastroenterology, infectious disease |
Symptoms | Typically none[1] |
Complications | Liver failure, liver cancer, esophageal and gastric varices[2] |
Duration | Long term (80%)[1] |
Causes | Hepatitis C virus usually spread by blood-to-blood contact[1][3] |
Diagnostic method | Blood testing for antibodies or viral RNA[1] |
Prevention | Clean needles, testing donated blood[4] |
Treatment | Medications, liver transplant[5] |
Medication | Antivirals (sofosbuvir, simeprevir, others)[1][4] |
Frequency | 71 million (2017)[6] |
Deaths | 399,000 (2016)[6] |
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver.[2] During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms.[1] Occasionally a fever, dark urine, abdominal pain, and yellow tinged skin occurs.[1] The virus persists in the liver in about 75% to 85% of those initially infected.[1] Early on chronic infection typically has no symptoms.[1] Over many years however, it often leads to liver disease and occasionally cirrhosis.[1] In some cases, those with cirrhosis will develop serious complications such as liver failure, liver cancer, or dilated blood vessels in the esophagus and stomach.[2]
HCV is spread primarily by blood-to-blood contact associated with intravenous drug use, poorly sterilized medical equipment, needlestick injuries in healthcare, and transfusions.[1][3] Using blood screening, the risk from a transfusion is less than one per two million.[1] It may also be spread from an infected mother to her baby during birth.[1] It is not spread by superficial contact.[4] It is one of five known hepatitis viruses: A, B, C, D, and E.[7] Diagnosis is by blood testing to look for either antibodies to the virus or its RNA.[1] Testing is recommended in all people who are at risk.[1]
There is no vaccine against hepatitis C.[1][8] Prevention includes harm reduction efforts among people who use intravenous drugs and testing donated blood.[4] Chronic infection can be cured more than 95% of the time with antiviral medications such as sofosbuvir or simeprevir.[6][1][4] Peginterferon and ribavirin were earlier generation treatments that had a cure rate of less than 50% and greater side effects.[4][9] Getting access to the newer treatments however can be expensive.[4] Those who develop cirrhosis or liver cancer may require a liver transplant.[5] Hepatitis C is the leading reason for liver transplantation, though the virus usually recurs after transplantation.[5]
An estimated 71 million people (1%) worldwide are infected with hepatitis C as of 2017[update].[6] In 2013, about eleven million new cases occurred.[10] It occurs most commonly in Africa and Central and East Asia.[4] About 167,000 deaths due to liver cancer and 326,000 deaths due to cirrhosis occurred in 2015 due to hepatitis C.[11] The existence of hepatitis C – originally identifiable only as a type of non-A non-B hepatitis – was suggested in the 1970s and proven in 1989.[12] Hepatitis C infects only humans and chimpanzees.[13]