07/08/25 Public Health Education Topic: Hepatitis C

Per CDC:

Key points

• Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

• Many people with hepatitis C don't look or feel sick so might not know they have the virus.

• Left untreated, hepatitis C can lead to serious liver problems, like scarring and cancer.

Types

The two types of hepatitis C are defined below.

Acute hepatitis C

When someone is first infected with HCV, they can either have a very mild illness with few or no symptoms or a serious condition that could require hospitalization.

Less than half of people who get hepatitis C are able to clear the virus in the first 6 months after infection without treatment.

Chronic hepatitis C

Most people who get infected will develop a chronic, or lifelong, infection. Left untreated, chronic hepatitis C can cause serious health problems including liver disease, liver failure, liver cancer, and even death. Chronic hepatitis C is a leading cause of liver cancer and the leading cause of liver transplants in the United States.

Signs and symptoms

You can have hepatitis C even if you don't have any symptoms.

Many people with hepatitis C don't look or feel sick.

If you do develop symptoms, you will notice them 2-12 weeks after infection with the virus. Signs can include:

• Dark urine or clay-colored stools

• Feeling tired

• Fever

• Joint pain

• Loss of appetite

• Nausea, stomach pain, throwing up

• Yellow skin or eyes (jaundice)

People with chronic hepatitis C are usually asymptomatic, meaning they do not have symptoms, or have general symptoms like chronic tiredness or depression. Yet even people without symptoms can spread the virus to others.

Prevention

The best way to prevent contracting hepatitis C is to avoid behaviors that can spread the disease like sharing or reusing needles or other personal items that might come into contact with infected blood.

To learn more visit: Hepatitis C Basics | Hepatitis C | CDC