What is Hepatitis C?
Dignity Dialogue|March 2020
Caused by a virus, Hepatitis C damages the liver and can have a long-term impact.
What is Hepatitis C?

Hepatitis C is a liver infection that can lead to serious liver damage. It’s caused by the Hepatitis C virus. But it causes few symptoms, so most people remain unaware about it. The virus spreads through an infected person’s blood or body fluids. There are many forms of the Hepatitis C virus, or HCV. The most common is Type 1. none is more serious than any other, but they respond differently to treatment. The Hepatitis C virus affects people in different ways and has several stages:

Incubation Period: This is the time between first exposure to the start of the disease. It can last anywhere from 14 to 80 days, but the average is 45.

Acute Hepatitis C: This is a short-term illness that lasts for the first six months after the virus enters your body. After that, some people who have it will get rid of, or clear, the virus on their own.

Chronic Hepatitis C: If your body doesn’t clear the virus on its own after six months, it becomes a long-term infection. This can lead to serious health problems like liver cancer or cirrhosis.

Cirrhosis: This disease leads to inflammation that, over time, replaces your healthy liver cells with scar tissue. It usually takes about 20 to 30 years for this to happen, though it can be faster if you drink alcohol or have HIV.

This story is from the March 2020 edition of Dignity Dialogue.

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This story is from the March 2020 edition of Dignity Dialogue.

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