Definitions for "Hepatitis C"
A form of hepatitis caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV), previously known as non-A, non-B hepatitis. Most infections are due to injection drug use with contaminated needles. Blood transfusion-associated infections are rarer now than in the past due to improved blood donor screening. The CDC estimates 3.9 million (1.8%) Americans have been infected with HCV, of whom 2.7 million are chronically infected. Of the people who have chronic hepatitis C, 10% to 20% eventually develop cirrhosis and 1% to 5% develop hepatocellular carcinoma.
Hepatitis C is a life-threatening, blood borne disease of the liver, which is transmitted by exposure to blood. A particularly dangerous form of viral hepatitis, it is caused by an RNA virus. Hepatitis C can lead to serious, permanent liver damage, and in many cases, death. More than 80 percent of those who are infected will progress to chronic liver disease. It is suspected that there are, at present, more than 4.5 million people in the United States that are infected with hepatitis C, and more than 200 million around the world.
a liver disease, caused by a virus, that makes the liver swells and stops it from working correctly.
Keywords:  malaise, flu, fatigue, chest, topic
Related Topic"...Symptoms are almost always present, and very similar to those for Hepatitis B: initially flu-like, with malaise, fatigue, muscle pain and chest pain on the right side..."