Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C


Hepatitis C is a disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV infection can last for years and damage the liver before it causes noticeable symptoms. You could be infected with HCV and not realize it. HCV may not cause problems for approximately 15-20 years, or even longer, but HCV can lead to severe liver damage called cirrhosis. People with cirrhosis are at increased risk for liver cancer, liver failure and death.

Hepatitis C virus is very clever to transform themselves quickly. Now there are at least six (6) major models of hepatitis C virus (often called genotypes) and more than 50 subtypes.

This is the reason why the body can not effectively fight the virus and the research has not been able to make a vaccine against hepatitis C virus Genotype does not determine how fast and how severe the disease progression of Hepatitis C, but certain genotypes may not tanggapand as well as others in treatment.

Transmission of Hepatitis C

Thousands of new infections are estimated to occur in Indonesia every year. According to WHO data, three percent of the world's population, or 170 million people worldwide are infected with Hepatitis C.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) spread by contact with blood-to-blood of an infected person's blood. In the United States, people with a history of needle use, drug use (up to 90% of people who have injected drugs with needles interchangeably, even juicet once, was infected with HCV), tattoos or blood circulation has been exposed, through unsafe seks increase the risk of this disease. Some people also infected in health facilities, through inadvertently punctured with needles or other instruments that are not sterile. HCV can also be transmitted through blood transfusion, although blood donors in Indonesia were screened for HCV.


Dr. I Nyoman Kandun, Director General of Disease Control and Environmental Health Ministry of Health in a campaign opportunity hepatitis C explained, all people at risk of contracting hepatitis C.

Two main reasons can be given why all people are at risk of contracting hepatitis C virus, which is due to ignorance of how the transmission of hepatitis C may occur. Both because hepatitis C is a disease that has no specific symptoms, so the patient does not realize that he had been infected so found already in the stage of chronic or infectious to others unintentionally.

Symptoms of Hepatitis C

Often times people who suffer from hepatitis C have no symptoms, although infection has occurred for many years.

If the symptoms below there that might faint :

Tired
Loss of appetite
Stomach ache
Urine becomes dark
Yellow skin or eyes (called " jaundice ") are rare
One of the common symptoms of Hepatitis C is a chronic fatigue. Fatigue can also be a side effect of the treatment of Hepatitis C. Fatigue due to Hepatitis C can be treated with rest and run a routine exercise.

Even so, it is necessary to perform the test if you think you are at risk of contracting hepatitis C or if you had any contact with people or contaminated objects. The only way to identify this disease is with a blood test.