Hepatitis C Is Not Uncommon
March 21 -- Diane was a healthy mother of two. Her first child's delivery was slightly complicated and she needed two units of blood, but everything was fine afterward.
Twenty-five years later, during a routine examination by her doctor, she was told that her liver enzymes were abnormal and further testing was required. Because she had had a blood transfusion years earlier, a hepatitis C test was performed.
Because she felt so well, Diane was surprised to find out the test showed that she had a chronic hepatitis C infection. Further evaluation revealed that she, in fact, had cirrhosis of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus.
The following two years were difficult as she developed signs of liver failure including fluid accumulation in the abdomen (called ascites), yellowing of the skin (jaundice), and mild confusion (encephalopathy).
She was listed for liver transplantation and four months later received a donor organ. Today Diane is fully functional, back to work, and feeling healthy again.
A Silent Disease
Diane's story is not an uncommon one. Nearly 4 million Americans have been exposed to hepatitis C by blood-to-blood contact and over 2.7 million have ongoing chronic infection.
The progression of hepatitis C is typically silent until it is late in the course of disease and cirrhosis has been established. Fortunately, the progression to cirrhosis only occurs in 20 percent of those with hepatitis C and liver failure develops in a mere 5 percent.
From the time of acquisition of the virus it can take up to 50 years to develop cirrhosis, thus most people with hepatitis C are unaware of its presence.
Anyone with a risk factor for acquiring hepatitis C, including a blood transfusion before 1992, intravenous drug use at any time, having a tattoo, sexual exposure to someone with hepatitis C, or cocaine snorting, should ask their doctor for hepatitis C testing. This simple blood test is over 95 percent accurate in making the diagnosis of hepatitis C.
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