Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. When the liver is inflamed (swollen and irritated), it has a harder time functioning properly. When this happens for a prolonged time, the liver starts to lose its ability to function, and a person may get sick. Hepatitis C is a contagious virus that can cause liver disease. It is sometimes called HCV for short. Some people who get infected with hepatitis C never feel sick and recover completely. Others develop acute or chronic hepatitis C.
Hepatitis C is a liver infection caused by the Hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis C is spread through contact with blood from an infected person. Today, most people become infected with the hepatitis C virus by sharing needles or other equipment used to prepare and inject drugs.
Symptoms
The symptoms of Hepatitis C are often mild. Most people carry the virus for years without noticing symptoms. When they do notice symptoms, the most common ones may include “brain fog”, fatigue, joint pain, loss of appetite, and weight loss.
New Hepatitis C treatments are very effective and have cure rates of over 95%. Treatments take between 8 to 12 weeks, have few side effects, and appear to be effective at all stages of the disease. Because these treatments are newer, they’re still expensive. But the cost is generally covered by provincial drug benefit programs or private insurance companies. Virtually all patients in Canada can now access these life-saving treatments that cure hepatitis C.