Hepatitis C, Essay Example

In fact, Hepatitis C is a liver disease, which is caused by Hepatitis C virus, so called HCV infection. “HCV infection sometimes results in an acute illness, but most often becomes a chronic condition that can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.”(CDC, 2007) Hepatitis C is also a general term for the liver’s inflammation caused by certain infection. It can also be caused by excessive exposure to alcohol, some medications, chemicals, poisons, as well as other toxins. This virus is considered to be very dangerous, predominantly because there is no vaccine against it and it cannot be cured. “35,000-40,000 new infections every year, the majority of which are symptom free.”(Askari & Cutler, 1999)

HCV is a contagious virus, like other viruses that cause hepatitis, but it is not essentially related to them. Hepatitis C virus is primarily transmitted through contact with blood or its products. For example, the sharing of contaminated needles could be the most probable mode of transmission. Other possible cases of virus transmission could be transfusion with infected blood or blood products, or organs transplantation from infected donors. In the year 1992, a test appeared for checking patients’ blood in order to avoid contamination. However, the virus does not transmit when living with or touching someone who is infected, but you can get the disease by sharing a razor, nail clippers or other similar items.

Even though hepatitis C gradually damages the liver, “Nine out of 10 infected people are not aware of their diagnosis.” (Askari & Cutler, 1999) The symptoms may not appear for 10-20 years or even more. However, when the symptoms do appear, the damage inflicted by a virus can be very serious. The symptoms can develop in 5 to 12 weeks after exposure to HCV infection. Among the symptoms of hepatitis C virus infection there are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, fatigue, pain over the liver, jaundice, dark-colored urine, and grayish or clay colored stools. Dehydration can also be caused by nausea and vomiting. Chronic hepatitis C can also cause the cirrhosis of the liver, when healthy liver tissue is replaced by fibrous tissue that results in scarlike hardening.

The development of hepatitis C infection in human organism involves four stages: acute stage, chronic stage, compensated cirrhosis, and decompensated cirrhosis. Acute phase comes immediately after infection and last about six months. The organism is given a chance to clear the virus, but if it does not happen, then the disease moves to another stage of long-term or chronic hepatitis C. “The 70% to 85% of individuals who do not manage to clear the virus spontaneously in the acute phase of infection are considered to be in the chronic phase of hepatitis C.”(Hepatitis C Trust, 2008) The diagnosis of chronic hepatitis C is usually confirmed after positive HCV antibody testing. At this stage it is highly unlikely that the virus can be cleared without medical interference. The development of cirrhosis differs from person to person, thus some people can develop it in less than ten years, and for some individuals the process may take up to fifty years. When it gets to cirrhosis stage, it means that the process of scarring of the liver has begun, thus the usual smooth texture of the liver eventually becomes lumpy and nodular. Compensated cirrhosis means that the liver can still recover the damage and perform most of its functions. However, when it comes to decompensated cirrhosis, there is a high risk of life threatening complication, for the liver at this stage is covered with nodules and shrinks in size.

Hepatitis C is a very dangerous disease, which at certain point can result in lethal issues. However, almost half of the people being infected do not know about the infection, which makes it difficult to prevent. With the development of medicine and appearance of diagnostic systems the problem seems to be more vivid and workable. I believe, people will eventually find the vaccine against Hepatitis C, which will save millions of lives.

References

Department of Health and Human Services. (2007). Viral Hepatitis. Retrieved May 7, 2009, from http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/

Askari, F. K., & Cutler, D. S. (1999). Hepatitis C, the silent epidemic: The authoritative guide. Perseus Publishing.

Hepatitis C Trust. (2008). Progression and stages of hepatitis C. Retrieved May 7, 2009, from http://www.hepctrust.org.uk/hepatitis-c/