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Hepatitis C: Intervention Programming for Youth at Risk - Final Consolidated Report

Appendix D - Key Fact Sheet

Key Facts About Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C (Hep C) is a virus that causes liver disease. There is no vaccine. (as many as 50 % of people with acute hepatitis C may spontaneously clear the virus. A sustained response with a long-term viral clearance is achieved in 30 to 40 % of chronic cases.)

It is transmitted by blood-to-blood contact, for example through:

• sharing needles when doing drugs;
• sharing snorting equipment like straws or bills;
• tattoos or piercings with unsterilized needles; or
• sexual activity (low risk).

Most infected people show no symptoms. When symptoms DO appear, six to seven weeks after infection, they may include:

• jaundice;
• chronic fatigue;
• nausea or lack of appetite;
• discoloured pee;
• diarrhea;
• joint pain;
• itchy skin.

Hep C can be mild and short, or chronic. Most infected people get the chronic form (70-80%).

Chronic hepatitis can take 5-30 years before it causes major problems like:

• cirrhosis - permanent scarring of the liver (10-20% of chronic cases)
• liver cancer (1-5%)

Over 250,000 people in Canada have Hep C. It is the leading cause of death from liver disease.

There are approximately 5,000 new cases of hepatitis C each year, many among young people.

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