According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the most common chronic bloodborne viral infection in the United States. HCV causes inflammation of the liver and is passed from person to person most easily through infected blood, so intravenous drug users are at high risk, as well as people who obtained blood transfusions before good screening was in place. However, the virus can also be passed through sexual contact and from mother to baby. Sixty to 70 percent of patients with HCV are asymptomatic in the first 1 to 3 weeks, and this can make the risk of transmission to other people particularly high in this time frame.
Initial Signs of Acute HCV Infection
According to the experts at the Mayo Clinic, acute HCV often is asymptomatic. If any signs occur, they will be similar to that of any viral infection such as the flu. Fatigue, nausea, generalized aches and pains, and tenderness in the area of the liver are all common symptoms that can occur with acute HCV infection. As noted by the CDC, only 20 to 30 percent of people with acute HCV infection will experience symptoms and these symptoms typically appear 4 to 12 weeks after infection.
Signs of Chronic HCV Infection
Chronic HCV infection may also be asymptomatic and signs are often insidious over several decades in people who do develop them. Infection is often recognized when an infected person attempts to donate blood or when liver function tests are noted to be abnormal on a routine examination. According to the CDC, 60 to 70 percent of people will develop chronic signs and 5 to 20 percent will develop cirrhosis, or fibrosis of the liver. As discussed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), patients with cirrhosis may experience abdominal pain and bloating, fatigue, weight loss, yellowing of the skin, nausea, pale stool, dark urine, itching, and spider-like blood vessels in the skin.
Complications
If a patient develops signs of chronic HCV infection, he will need to be monitored for complications of this disorder. One complication of chronic infection is hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of cancer of the liver. Signs of this may be weight loss and abdominal pain, but this cancer is most frequently found with monitoring by ultrasound of the liver. Other signs of complications may include bleeding in the GI tract, swelling of the abdomen or legs, easy bruising, and diabetes.
Prevention
The signs of HCV can be prevented by preventing the transmission of the disease and by obtaining treatment at the first signs of infection. Avoiding intravenous drug use and blood contact with other people, as well as practicing safe sexual habits, can help prevent the initial infection. If the signs of infection are present, the patient should see a hepatologist, or liver specialist. This physician can initiate treatment with medications to help reduce the amount of virus in the bloodstream. A hepatologist will also monitor the patient for signs of complications from chronic HCV.
Misconceptions
Even if a person has no signs of HCV infection, he should be tested if he has any risk factors for this disease. In some patients complications of chronic HCV infection can occur in the absence of any signs. Testing can help a patient to obtain earlier treatment and to avoid the further transmission of HCV.
