liver and gallbladder disorders
Hepatitis C, Chronic
Introduction
Chronic hepatitis C is inflammation of the liver that is caused by the hepatitis C virus and that has lasted more than 6 months. Hepatitis C often causes no symptoms until after it has badly damaged the liver. Doctors diagnose chronic hepatitis C based on blood tests. If chronic hepatitis C has caused cirrhosis, screening for liver cancer is done every 6 months. Chronic hepatitis C is treated with antiviral drugs. (See also Overview of Hepatitis , Acute hepatitis C becomes chronic in about 75% of affected people. From 2013 to 2016, an estimated 2.4 million people in the United States had chronic hepatitis C. Worldwide, 71 million people are estimated to have chronic hepatitis C. Chronic hepatitis C, if untreated, causes Cirrhosis of the Liver in about 20 to 30% of people. However, cirrhosis may take decades to develop. The risk of liver cancer is increased usually only if cirrhosis is present. There are different types (genotypes 1 through 6) of hepatitis C virus, which are sometimes treated with different drugs. 