Table of Contents
Hepatitis is an inflammation, or swelling, of the liver. Alcohol, drugs (including street drugs, over-the-counter medications, and prescription medications), poisons, and several viruses can all cause hepatitis. Viral hepatitis is the term used for any virus that causes inflammation of the liver.
Signs of hepatitis include:
Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). In 2012, The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that there were 3.2 million Americans living with chronic (long-lasting) HCV. The World Health Organization estimates that 170 million people are chronically infected with HCV worldwide, including 12 million in India and five to ten million in Europe.
Approximately half of HIV-negative people clear HCV from their bodies without medical treatment within the first six months of becoming infected. For those living with HIV (HIV+), about one in five people will get rid of the virus without treatment. The majority of people do not clear HCV and go on to develop chronic infection.
Chronic HCV may not cause any symptoms for ten years or more. However, even without symptoms, it can cause serious liver damage leading to cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), liver failure, and death. In fact, HCV is one of the most common causes of liver disease and viral hepatitis is the number one reason for liver transplants in America.
HCV is spread in the following ways:
Unfortunately there is still no vaccine to prevent you from being infected with HCV. However, there are vaccines for two other types of hepatitis: A and B. It is strongly recommended that people with HCV get hepatitis A and B vaccinations as early as possible. For more information on hepatitis A and hepatitis B, see our info sheets.
HCV is not commonly passed from a pregnant woman to her baby. Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) occurs in about five out of every hundred cases. Studies have found that the risk for MTCT of HCV is three to four times higher in women with HIV. There is currently no known treatment that will prevent the transmission of HCV from mother to child.
The best way to prevent HCV infection is to avoid being exposed to blood that is infected with HCV. Do not share equipment to use drugs and make sure tattoo artists use sterile needles and inkwells. Practicing safer sex is also a good idea; you can find tips to protect yourself in our Safer Sex info sheet.
Most people who are infected with HCV do not know it because they have no symptoms. Early signs of HCV can seem like the flu and often go unnoticed. The only way to know for sure if you have HCV is to get a blood test for it.
The CDC recently recommended that everyone born during 1945 through 1965 (the 'baby boomers') get a one-time blood test for HCV. This new recommendation has been released for a number of reasons, including improvements in treatment for hepatitis C and high rates of HCV infection among baby boomers.
Tests for HCV include:
If you have HIV, you should be tested for HCV. The standard HCV test is one that looks for antibodies to HCV in your blood. If your antibody test is positive for HCV, your body has been infected with HCV at some point in time. However, this antibody test can not tell whether you were infected in the past and got rid of the virus, or if you are currently infected.
If your antibody test is positive, you should also get a test for HCV RNA (the actual genetic material of the hepatitis C virus) called a nucleic acid test (NAT). If your NAT is positive, you are most likely currently infected with HCV. If your NAT is negative (no HCV RNA in your blood), then you were infected in the past and are not now currently infected.
The HCV NAT cannot tell if or when someone with HCV will develop liver damage. However, the HCV NAT can help predict how well someone will respond to HCV treatment. Generally, the lower the HCV viral load, the better the chances that treatment will work well.
Liver enzyme tests are blood tests that look at levels of liver enzymes. Because levels of liver enzymes can tell us how well the liver is working, liver enzyme tests are often referred to as liver function tests. Liver enzyme tests measure several things that the liver produces, including ALT, AST, bilirubin, albumin, and some indicators of your blood's ability to clot. Elevated liver enzymes may indicate liver damage. However, some people with HCV have normal liver enzymes, even in very advanced disease.
Worldwide, there are six different types of HCV called genotypes. These genotypes differ in their regional distribution and can predict how well treatment will work. Genotype 1 is the most common globally (six out of every ten infections) and is also the most common in the US. Genotypes 2 and 3 are less common in the US. Genotype 3 is very common in Southeast Asia, while genotype 4 is found mostly in the Middle East and central Africa. Genotype 5 is located almost entirely in South Africa, and genotype 6 is found in Asia.
HCV genotype 1 is less likely to respond to treatment than HCV genotypes 2 and 3. Before you begin treatment, you should have a genotype test to find out which genotype you have. This will help you and your health care provider make decisions about which treatments to use and how long to use them.
A liver biopsy (inserting a needle through the skin and into the liver to obtain a small sample that is examined under a microscope) is the most reliable way to determine how much damage has been done to your liver. It can also help you and your health care provider figure out when to start HCV treatment.
FibroSURE™ is a blood test that looks at six markers of liver activity to measure liver damage. It is often used as a non-invasive alternative to liver biopsy. This test is good at identifying either no liver damage or advanced liver damage. However, if the damage is somewhere between none and advanced, it does not give very helpful information. A liver biopsy gives more detailed information about all levels of liver damage.
FibroScan is a relatively new non-invasive test that is currently approved for use in 70 countries. In April of 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its use in the US. It is similar to an ultrasound, and is done in the office or clinic by your provider. The scan uses a dull probe that presses against the skin over the liver. FibroScan is used to measure liver damage and determine the amount of liver cirrhosis. Because the sound waves it uses to measure liver damage must pass through body fat, it is not a good test for those who are obese, since its results are likely to be unreliable.
Women who are infected with HCV are different from HCV-infected men in a few important ways. First, the good news: women are more likely to clear HCV than men are. This means that when women become infected with HCV, their bodies are more successful at fighting it off. Women who develop chronic HCV infections are also more likely to get rid of HCV with treatment. Lastly, liver disease tends to progress more slowly in women than in men.
However, women with HCV face a few extra challenges compared with HCV-infected men. First, women's livers are more sensitive to alcohol and are therefore more likely to be damaged by it in smaller amounts. The amount of alcohol women without HCV can drink without damaging their livers is smaller than men's. For women living with HCV, it is best to avoid alcohol altogether. For HCV-positive women who do drink, however, it is recommended that they not have more than one drink per day.
It is also important for women to know that excess body weight can lead to fat in the liver. Fat in the liver increases inflammation and liver damage, and increases the risk of cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) in women living with HCV. Being overweight and having fat in the liver also lowers the chance of being able to get rid of HCV with treatment.
Because both HIV and HCV can be spread by contact with infected blood, many people are infected with both viruses. This is called co-infection. About one in four people living with HIV in the US are co-infected with HCV. Co-infection is even more common among HIV+ injection drug users, of whom about eight out of ten also have HCV.
HCV can progress more rapidly and lead to serious liver damage more often in HIV+ people. According to the CDC, having HIV more than triples the risk of liver disease, liver failure, and liver-related death due to HCV. Co-infection with HCV may also make HIV treatment more challenging. Therefore, it is important for HIV+ people to know whether they have HCV. The CDC recommends that all HIV+ people be screened for both hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Some experts recommend that HIV+ people at risk for HCV be screened every year.
Treatment of HIV/HCV co-infection is complicated. It is important to have a health care provider who is familiar with HIV and HCV to get the best treatment for both diseases. The good news is that HCV can be treated successfully, even in HIV+ people.
For more information about HCV treatment, see our Treatment of Hepatitis C info sheet.
Because there is no vaccine for HCV, the best way to avoid getting it is to understand how it is spread and protect yourself through safer sex and using clean needles when injecting. You can also keep your liver healthy by:
See our info sheet on Caring for Your Liver for more information.