Overview

This page is an archive. Its content may no longer be accurate and was last updated on the original publication date. It is intended for reference and as a historical record only. For hep C questions, call Help4Hep BC at 1-888-411-7578.

Hepatitis C. . .

NOT JUST A LIVER DISEASE: “Hepatitis” means an inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis C affects many other parts of the body as well as the liver.

A SILENT KILLER: There are many kinds of hepatitis virus including hepatitis A, B, C, D, and so on. Hepatitis C is only one kind, but it kills the most people, worldwide. Many people don’t know they have it until after terrible damage has been done.

COMES FROM: “Hepatitis” means liver inflammation which can be caused by alcohol, poisons, or viruses which can be spread through many ways. Hepatitis C is caused by a VIRUS (HCV) which is spread by BLOOD-TO-BLOOD contact. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was identified in 1989. Before 1989, this type of hepatitis was called non-A, non-B hepatitis, meaning that it was not caused by the viruses that produce hepatitis A or hepatitis B (two other viruses that can cause other types of hepatitis).

PREVENTION/CURE? Yes, there are ways to protect yourself and others from hepatitis C. There is NO VACCINE but there is a CURE (approximately 90% – 99% successful, depending on disease genotype, degree of liver damage, and prior treatment history). The cure is now covered by BC PharmaCare and most insurance plans in both Canada and the USA. Several pharmaceuticals are available, collectively called DAAs or “direct-acting antivirals”. Unlike past Hepatitis C treatments (interferon, ribavirin, boceprevir, etc.), the new DAAs are all oral, with few if any side-effects, and the entire treatment time is only 6-12 weeks. Once a person is cured, they will no longer be able to infect others with hepatitis C.

REALLY? A C-U-R-E ??? Yes, a true cure has been discovered which actually kills every hepatitis C virus in an infected person’s body. This condition is called a SUSTAINED VIRAL RESPONSE or SVR. Three to six months after a patient has completed treatment, their health service provider will order another PCR test. If it comes back without any hepatitis C virus (“UNDETECTABLE”), the patient will be considered to have ACHIEVED SVR, also known as a CURE. It is very exciting for a healthcare provider to be able to tell a patient such great news!

DOES A CURE MEAN A PERSON IS SAFE FROM CIRRHOSIS or LIVER CANCER? No, the damage done to one’s liver and other organs does not go away immediately. After the virus is gone, there is no more new damage. However, it can take several years for damaged organs to heal, and for the risk of cancer to diminish. Some organs will never return to their pre-hepatitis state, and other conditions such as auto-immune responses may remain. 

RE-INFECTION? Yes, a person can become re-infected with hepatitis C virus if they engage in at-risk behaviours. DAAs do not protect a person from becoming re-infected. 

HCV IS A SYSTEMIC DISORDER that primarily targets the liver, but can also trigger a host of autoimmune disorders and various other diseases, such as diabetes, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, retinal complications, kidney disease, chronic heart disease and thyroiditis.

HCV AFFECTS PEOPLE DIFFERENTLY. Some are not affected by the condition at all, or are affected very slowly, while others are affected very badly or very quickly. HCV can have a great variety of symptoms, depending on what part of the body is affected by the virus.

HCV IS OFTEN THOUGHT by the medical profession to be benign because the course of the disease is usually slow. However hepatitis C can kill by causing liver failure or liver cancer. For most people, the progression to morbidity and mortality is slow (20 to 40+ years); for others hepatitis C can cause cirrhosis and/or death more quickly.