Hepatitis C is increasing dramatically in the United States, particularly among younger adults, and 4 in 10 people don’t even know they have it. Hepatitis C is usually spread through blood, often from injection drug use. Less commonly, hepatitis C is spread through sex or from an infected mother to her infant during pregnancy or childbirth. An acute infection develops when someone is first infected. Some people clear the virus, but most people with acute hepatitis C will develop a long-term (chronic) infection. Left untreated, chronic hepatitis C can cause severe liver damage, liver cancer, and even death. But hepatitis C is curable. The first step to being cured is getting a hepatitis C blood test. CDC now recommends testing:
- Every adult at least once
- Pregnant women during every pregnancy
- Everyone with ongoing risk factors regularly
Source: CDC
Educational Resource for patients: Hepatitis C Fact Sheet
Page last reviewed: April 9, 2020
Content source: Division of Viral Hepatitis, National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention