Hepatitis C - A Silent Killer

Many people who are infected never have symptoms and therefore never come to the attention of medical or public health officials. An estimated 3.2 million persons in the United States have chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Most people do not know they are infected because they don't look or feel sick. Approximately 75%-85% of people who become infected with hepatitis C virus develop chronic infection. Chronic hepatitis C is a serious disease that can result in long-term health problems, including liver damage, liver failure, liver cancer, or even death. It is the leading cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer and the most common reason for liver transplantation in the United States. Approximately 8,000-10,000 people die every year from hepatitis C related liver disease. Of every 100 people infected with the hepatitis C virus, about 75-85 people will develop chronic hepatitis C virus infection; of those, 60-70 people will go on to develop chronic liver disease, of those, 5-20 people will go on to develop cirrhosis over a period of 20-30 years, of those, 1-5 people will die from cirrhosis or liver cancer.

Some people that are at increased risk for hepatitis C, include the following:

  • Current injection drug users (currently the most common way hepatitis C virus is spread in the United States)
  • Past injection drug users, including those who injected only one time or many years ago
  • Recipients of donated blood, blood products, and organs (once a common means of transmission but now rare in the United States since blood screening became available in 1992)
  • People who received a blood product for clotting problems made before 1987
  • Hemodialysis patients or persons who spent many years on dialysis for kidney failure
  • People who received body piercing or tattoos done with non-sterile instruments
  • People with known exposures to the hepatitis C virus, such as
  • Healthcare workers injured by needlesticks
  • Recipients of blood or organs from a donor who tested positive for the hepatitis C virus
  • HIV-infected persons
  • Children born to mothers infected with the hepatitis C virus

For more information, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov