HEPATITIS C

What is Hep C?

	"The big problem is that most people with Hepatitis C aren't even diagnosed. The estimate is that between 200,000 and 400,000 people in this country might have Hep C and not know it.   We did a survey recently of GPs that was incredibly alarming. About a third said they didn't know how to read a Hepatitis C test result.   Getting rid of the stigma is crucial." Jane Allen, Parliamentary and Policy Advisor at Hep C Trust

The Hep C virus (HCV for short) lives in human blood. The virus causes inflammation of the liver and over time it becomes more and more difficult for the liver to perform the functions necessary to keep the body healthy.

The liver plays a vital role in the body as it breaks down waste products in blood. The inflammation caused by Hepatitis C prevents the liver from doing its job properly and a waste product called Bilirubin begins to build up in the blood and tissues of the body. Bilirubin gives the person with hepatitis a yellow-orange colour and together with the build up of other waste products, may cause itching, nausea, body aches and fever.

There are two main kinds of Hep C – acute or chronic. Acute hepatitis causes the liver to become inflamed very suddenly and may give rise to the aforementioned symptoms or maybe none at all. Most people get over the acute inflammation in a few days or a few weeks. Sometimes, however, the inflammation doesn’t go away and when this occurs the person has chronic hepatitis.

How do you get Hep C?

Through exposure to the blood of someone who has Hep C and through that infected blood entering your body, for example through:

• sharing drug needles

• getting a tattoo or body piercing with unsterilised, dirty tools

• having (‘rough’) sex with an infected person, especially if you or your partner has other sexually transmitted diseases.

• being born to a mother with hepatitis C.

• if you had a blood transfusion before 1991. (Since 91 blood is screened to ensure it is clear of the Hep C Virus)
  

What are the long-term implications?

It can take decades for the Hep C virus to cause real damage. The infection is often asymptomatic - Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop, unknowingly lived with the condition for 30 years before it showed up in a routine blood test. However liver damage can result in the need for a liver transplant or cancer of the liver and ultimately Hepatitis C may result in death.

Are there any treatments for Hep C?

Yes, Interferon along with Ribavirin can completely eradicate the virus in around half of patients.

Read more in our Mainliner's story here >>