Hepatitis C is a bloodborne infection of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV), a small RNA virus in the Flaviviridae family. Infection begins acutely, but the acute illness is usually mild or silent. The form that matters clinically is chronic infection, which persists in most people and can progress over years to decades to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Unlike hepatitis B, there is no vaccine, but the infection can now be cured, so the main obstacle to care is finding the people who carry it.
Where to start
- Hepatitis C and G viruses — the virus itself: its structure, genome, and the variability that has blocked a vaccine.
- Transmission and epidemiology of hepatitis C — how HCV spreads, and how its burden differs between regions and populations.
- Pathogenesis of hepatitis C — how the virus enters liver cells and evades innate and adaptive immunity to persist.
- Clinical syndromes and natural history of hepatitis C — the acute illness, the shift to chronic infection, and the long-term course.
- Diagnosis and screening of hepatitis C — who to test, and how antibody and RNA testing identify current infection.
- Treatment of hepatitis C — the direct-acting antivirals and the goal of eradicating the virus.
- Complications of hepatitis C — cryoglobulinemia, skin and metabolic disorders, and hepatocellular carcinoma.
- Prevention of hepatitis C — how new infections are prevented when there is no vaccine.