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