Hepatitis C Virus

By cprworksfl on Dec 5, 2016 in Hepatitis C Virus, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a viral infection that causes liver inflammation, sometimes leading to serious liver damage. This virus is spread through contaminated blood.

According to the CDC, one in thirty baby boomers — the generation born between the years 1945 to 1965 — has been infected with hepatitis C and most don’t know it.

Signs and symptoms of HCV:

bleeding easily
bruising easily
fatigue
poor appetite
yellow discoloration of the skin and eyes (jaundice)
dark-colored urine
itchy skin
fluid build up in your abdomen (ascites)
swelling in your legs
weight loss
confusion, drowsiness and slurred speech (hepatic encephalopathy)
spider-like blood vessels on your skin (spider angiomas)

Risk factors include:

you are a healthcare worker who has been exposed to infected blood, which may happen if an infected needle pierces your skin
you have ever injected or inhaled illicit drugs
you have HIV
you received a piercing or tattoo in an unclean environment using unsterile equipment
you have received a blood transfusion or organ transplant before 1992
you have received clotting factor concentrates before 1987
you have received hemodialysis treatments for a long period of time
you were born to a woman with a hepatitis C infection
you were ever in prison
you were born between the years 1945 and 1965

Other surprising facts about HCV:

– 25% of people with HIV also have HCV

– 2 to 10% of people with HCV also have HBV (hepatitis B virus)

– HCV tends to progress faster in people with HIV

– HCV is one of the top causes of liver disease, liver transplants, and the leading cause of death from liver disease

– about 75% of adults with HCV are of the baby boomer generation

– chronic liver disease, which is often due to HCV, is a leading cause of death for African Americans

– rates of chronic HCV are higher for African Americans than for people of other ethnicities

– HCV is not transmitted through coughing, sneezing, or being in close proximity to someone with HCV

– HCV does not pass through breast milk