In the United States, about 3.2 million people live with a chronic hepatitis C infection, the type of hepatitis C that remains in a patient's body, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The hepatitis C virus infects the liver, leading to inflammation. The National Institutes of Health notes that hepatitis C commonly causes chronic liver disease, such as cirrhosis, or scarring, of the liver. A person contracts hepatitis C when she comes into contact with blood contaminated by hepatitis C.
Tainted Blood Transfusions and Organ Transplants
The Mayo Clinic states that before 1992, the year that blood screening tests for hepatitis C became available, blood transfusions and organ transplants that originated from hepatitis C patients caused hepatitis C in other people. Donated blood and organs now go through testing for diseases like hepatitis C before the recipients receive them, so hepatitis C caused by transplants and transfusions rarely occurs. The CDC notes that the risk is below 1 chance per 2 million units of blood transfused.
Drug Use with Contaminated Needles
People may contract hepatitis C by sharing needles with hepatitis C patients. When people with hepatitis C use needles to inject drugs, infected blood gets pulled up into the needle. If someone else uses that needle, the infected blood is passed on to the next user. The rate of hepatitis C among injection drug users varies by age. For example, the CDC states that 33 percent of 18 to 30 year old injection drug users have hepatitis C. In comparison, 70 to 90 percent of older and former users have hepatitis C.
Other Causes of Hepatitis C
A mother who has hepatitis C may pass the virus on to her child while she gives birth. The NIH notes that hepatitis C transmission through childbirth occurs less often than transmission of hepatitis B through childbirth. The Mayo Clinic states that sexual contact with an infected partner can cause hepatitis C in the other partner, though this rarely occurs. People who have HIV or another sexually transmitted disease or who have multiple partners have a greater risk of contracting hepatitis C through sexual intercourse, according to the NIH. The CDC adds that sharing personal items with a hepatitis C patient, such as a razor or toothbrush, may cause hepatitis C for the other person, though this method has a low rate of virus transmission.
