hepatitis C

hepatitis C, infectious disease of the liver, the causative agent of which is known as hepatitis C virus (HCV). About 71 million people worldwide have chronic HCV infection, making hepatitis C a major source of chronic liver disease. The burden of HCV infection varies depending on country and population. In Egypt, for example, roughly 10–15 percent of people between ages 15 and 59 are chronically infected with HCV. In Sweden, by contrast, the prevalence is about 0.5 percent. HCV prevalence is especially high among intravenous drug users.

The discovery and isolation of HCV in the late 1980s and the subsequent development of blood screening assays and therapies for chronic HCV infection were the basis of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The prize was shared by American virologists Harvey J. Alter and Charles M. Rice and British-born scientist Michael Houghton.

Transmission of HCV

Transmission of HCV is largely through direct contact with human blood. Routes of transmission include the reuse of unsterilized needles (e.g., needle sharing among intravenous drug users), syringes, or other medical equipment; transfusion with blood that was not screened for HCV; or transplantation of solid organs infected with HCV. HCV can be transmitted through sexual contact or perinatally (during childbirth). Infrequent modes of transmission include ear or body piercing, acupuncture, and tattooing, which can occur when inadequately sterilized equipment is used. HCV is not spread via casual contact (e.g., kissing), breast-feeding, or contaminated foods or water.

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Symptoms of HCV infection

About 70 to 80 percent of individuals who contract HCV show no symptoms of acute hepatitis. When present, symptoms of acute illness may include fever, malaise, nausea, jaundice, arthralgia (joint pain), dark urine, pale stools, and abdominal pain. Acute symptoms typically subside within several weeks. In very rare instances, primarily when another chronic liver disease (e.g., hepatitis B) is present, acute illness culminates in fulminant (sudden) hepatic failure.

In roughly 70 to 90 percent of persons infected with HCV, the virus persists in the liver following the acute phase of infection. In the majority of cases, chronic infection is asymptomatic for decades. The infection may be noticed only after routine blood tests reveal elevated levels of liver enzymes, by which time liver function has begun to decline. Symptomatic patients may experience fatigue, nausea, anorexia, myalgia (muscle pain), arthralgia, weakness, and weight loss. Complications arising from chronic HCV infection include cirrhosis (scarring or fibrosis of the liver), liver failure, and liver cancer.

Chronic HCV infection is also associated with cryoglobulinemia, the accumulation of abnormal antibodies that are made in response to certain diseases or infections. The antibodies can aggregate and deposit in small blood vessels and cause vasculitis (blood vessel inflammation). Symptoms of cryoglobulinemia include joint pain and swelling, a purple skin rash, swelling of the legs, and nerve pain. Abnormal blood flow resulting from cryoglobulinemia may lead to Raynaud phenomenon, in which small blood vessels in the fingers and toes spasm in response to cold temperatures.

Diagnosis and treatment of HCV infection

Hepatitis C is rarely diagnosed at the time of infection, since few individuals are symptomatic. Asymptomatic cases may be detected, however, through recommended screening in high-risk populations, such as intravenous drug users and recipients of blood transfusions or organ transplants in which the tissues were not initially tested for HCV. Diagnostic testing and screening for hepatitis C centres on the detection of circulating antibodies and RNA specific to HCV. HCV RNA is detectable within 1 to 3 weeks of infection, and the antibodies are usually detectable within 8 to 12 weeks.

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Treatment of hepatitis C is focused on the elimination of viral infection, improvement of liver function, and the prevention of cirrhosis and liver cancer. Liver function may be improved with the use of interferon, which reduces HCV replication and stimulates the immune system to fight HCV infection. Interferon is often given in combination with ribavirin, an antiviral drug that mimics nucleosides (the building blocks of DNA and RNA) and thereby interferes with viral reproduction. Ribavirin may also be used in combination with agents known as sofosbuvir and velpatasvir, which inhibit key molecules involved in HCV RNA replication. Treatment of end-stage or advanced liver disease and cirrhosis caused by HCV infection is also possible with liver transplantation, though recurrence of detectable HCV infection is almost universal after transplantation.

Because of the high global incidence of HCV, many transplanted organs carry the virus, placing at risk of the disease even previously uninfected individuals in need of an organ transplant. In many instances, however, antiviral drugs can effectively block or cure HCV infection that originates from a transplanted infected organ, enabling recipients to lead healthy, productive lives following transplantation.

Preventive measures for HCV infection

Treatment options for hepatitis C are expensive, noncurative, and out of reach for the majority of people living in less-developed countries. Hence, prevention of infection remains an important public health goal.

HCV has a high mutation rate and multiple genotypes, which have challenged the development of an HCV vaccine. As a result, the primary means of prevention include infection-control practices in health care settings (e.g., sterilization of equipment), the screening and testing of blood and organ donors, and viral inactivation in plasma-derived products. The development in the 1990s of highly effective assays to screen for HCV in donor blood greatly reduced the transmission of the virus in health care settings.

Risk-reduction counseling may help prevent the transmission of HCV among individuals who inject drugs.