Charlotte, NC
Olalekan Akanbi, MD, MPH
Jwala KC, MD
Mr. Bowers is a 35-year-old man who was recently diagnosed with hepatitis C. He has a history of intravenous drug abuse and was found to be infected with the hepatitis C virus on a routine annual visit. He is entirely asymptomatic and healthy otherwise. He wants to talk to his doctor regarding the advertisement he heard on the new medications for Hepatitis C.
Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the Hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis C is contagious and is usually transmitted through blood and less commonly via sexual intercourse. In the United States, around 17000 new infections occur each year. Acute hepatitis C is asymptomatic and may be a slowly progressive liver disease. It may cause chronic hepatitis C when left untreated, causing severe liver damage. Most persons with chronic HCV infection do not experience symptoms, although they can develop cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Hepatitis C can be cured; testing is the first step. With the introduction of newer drugs, cure rates have increased by 95%. Doctors will check you, and if viral loads are not detected in the blood after medications, you are considered to have complete treatment and be cured. Read out the article below for full information.
Hepatitis C is a silent disease and is usually asymptomatic. Acute hepatitis C is typically mild and nonspecific. The symptoms may include;
Remember: You may not have any symptoms if you have a chronic HCV infection.
Every patient 18 years or older needs to get a hepatitis C screening at least once. Regardless of age or environmental prevalence, patients with known exposures (such as injectable medications) should be screened for hepatitis C, and frequent testing should continue as long as possible.
We recommend screening for hepatitis C in:
About 40% of people with chronic hepatitis C are unaware of their infection. Your doctor will request a blood test to check for hepatitis C. If it is discovered that you have a chronic HCV infection, your doctor may order additional tests to evaluate the severity of liver damage. Additional tests could include
Recent new medications are approved in the market, causing fewer side effects, including Harvoni, Sovaldi, or Viekira Pak. Your doctor may recommend one or more of these more recent, direct-acting antiviral medications to treat hepatitis C. The hepatitis C treatment plan has reduced fatal and liver cirrhosis-related complications.
Talk to your doctor regarding getting ready for treatment. These treatments are better than previously available treatments as they don’t need to be injected and come in the form of a pill. Most treatment regimens last for 8- 12 weeks. Treatment may be extended to 24 weeks in the presence of advanced liver disease (cirrhosis).
Hepatitis C can spread when a person comes in contact with blood from an infected person. Injecting drugs is the most common way HCV is transmitted in the United States. The best way to prevent HCV for people who inject drugs is to stop injecting. Community-based prevention programs, such as medication-assisted treatment and syringe services programs, can also reduce the transmission of HCV.
Although the risk of sexual transmission of HCV is considered low, avoiding unprotected sexual exposure by using condoms has been shown to reduce the chance of sexually transmitted infections. Less often, HCV transmission occurs through sexual contact with an HCV-infected partner, especially among people with multiple sex partners and men who have sex with men. So, they also need to undergo screening tests.
There is no vaccine to prevent hepatitis C. The best way to prevent HCV infection is to avoid contact with contaminated blood.
No, it does not transmit the disease.
No, you don’t have to stay away from healthy people.
