Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)
The Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is also a significant cause of severe liver damage and death.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were an estimated 44,700 new cases of hepatitis C reported in the United States in 2017. This marks a significant decrease from the peak of the epidemic in the 1990s, when an estimated 230,000 new cases were reported each year.
Despite the decline in new cases, the CDC estimates that approximately 2.4 million people in the United States are currently living with hepatitis C. Many of these individuals do not have symptoms and are unaware of their infection. They may not receive treatment until the disease has progressed to advanced stages.
However, some people can have mild to severe symptoms soon after being infected, including:
- fever
- fatigue
- loss of appetite
- nausea
- vomiting
- abdominal pain
- dark urine
- clay-colored bowel movements
- joint pain
- jaundice (yellow color in the skin or eyes)
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
1-4. Why is acute hepatitis C rarely identified or reported?
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