Hepatitis C The Silent Epidemic
The Hepatitis C (HCV) virus was identified in 1989. Unlike the other types of viral hepatitis, hepatitis C is very difficult for the immune system to overcome.
As a result, most Hepatitis C infections (80-90%) become chronic and lead to liver disease, including cirrhosis (scarring of the liver tissues) and liver failure. Hepatitis C infection is typically mild in its early stages, and it is rarely recognized until it has caused significant damage to the liver. The cycle of disease from infection to significant liver damage can take 20 years or more.
Blood transfusions account for nearly 10% of all cases of Hepatitis C. Prior to 1990, there were no tests for hepatitis C in donated blood, and the risk of infection was between 8 and 10%. Since 1993, risk has been negligible.
The symptoms of Hepatitis C are often very mild, at least in the early stages of infection and can be virtually undetectable. The most common symptom, commencing sometimes years after initial infection, is fatigue. Other symptoms include mild fever, muscle and joint aches, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, vague abdominal pain, and sometimes diarrhea. Many cases go undiagnosed because the symptoms are suggestive of a flu-like illness which just comes and goes.
When the disease progresses and damages the liver badly enough, the symptoms become commensurate with cirrhosis and liver failure, including jaundice, abdominal swelling (due to fluid retention called ascites), and finally coma.
It is suspected that around 4.5 million people in the United States are infected with hepatitis C, and over 200 million around the world.
This makes hepatitis C one of the greatest public health threats faced in this century, and possibly one of the greatest threats to be faced in the next century. Many times more people are infected with hepatitis C than HIV (the virus that causes AIDS). Without swift intervention to curtail the spread of the disease, the death rate from hepatitis C will surpass that from AIDS by the turn of the century and will only get worse.
Hepatitis C, in combination with the less common hepatitis B, now accounts for 75% of all cases of liver disease around the world. Liver failure due to hepatitis C is the leading cause of liver transplants in the United States.
The average lifetime cost for hepatitis C has been estimated at about $100,000 for individual patients that do not undergo liver transplants. The lifetime health care costs for the more than 4.5 million Americans infected, excluding liver transplants, will be more than $400 billion.
Epidemic: Surgeon General's Website for Hepatitis C
This Eloquent Letters Explain It All.
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: A letter to healthy people
By Susan Simon
Having hepatitis C virus, as with any invisible chronic illness means that your life as you once knew it is changed. Just because you can't see those changes doesn't mean they are not there and felt by us.
Most people don't understand hepatitis C and cannot imagine what living with a chronic illness means. With the hope that there are some who wish to understand, these are some of the things I'd like you to know about us.
Please understand that being sick doesn't mean we are not still human with all the same emotions that healthy people experience. Some of us must spend our time carefully so that we conserve what little energy we possess. If you visit we may not be much fun, but we still love and appreciate company. Some of us worry about our jobs, schooling and families. Most of the time we'd like to hear what is going on in your life as well as sharing our lives.
Please understand that one can be happy but not healthy. When you have the flu you feel fairly miserable, but we've been ill for years. We can't be miserable all the time, in fact most of us work hard at not being miserable. So when you speak with us and we sound happy, it means we are happy. That's all. It doesn't mean we are not sick, in pain and extremely fatigued, or that a miracle cure has been found and we are all healthy once again. Please don't say, "Oh you're sounding better!" We are not sounding better, we are sounding happy. Feel free to remark about our happiness. Just don't assume that it means we are better.
Please understand that being able to stand up and participate in an activity for 15 or 20 minutes, doesn't necessarily mean that we can participate for 30 minutes or an hour. It's quite likely that doing that 15 minutes has exhausted our resources and we may need time to recover. Remember the last time you played a swift game of tennis or softball. You couldn't repeat that feat over and over again. This applies to every thing we do.
Please understand that chronic illness is variable. It's quite possible that one day we are able to walk to the park, or shop in the mall, while the next day we may have no energy at all. Please don't say, "But you did it yesterday." If you want us to do something, just ask and we will tell you if we are able. If it is necessary to cancel an appointment with you at the last moment , please don't take it personally. There are days when we feel great and all of a sudden that changes and the fatigue is overwhelming.
Please don't ask us how we got this disease. There are many ways to acquire hepatitis C. Some of us made a foolish choice to experiment with IV drugs when we were young and invincible. Some of us were born with hemophilia and need to use blood products to stay alive. Some of us were given blood transfusions before 1992. Some of us are veterans who fought proudly for our country and some of us are kidney dialysis patients as well. Many of us have no risk factors at all and do not know where we got hepatitis C. If we wish to share our medical history with you, we will. Please don't be afraid to hug us, kiss us or hold us. You cannot "catch" hepatitis C from us unless there was a mixing of our blood with yours.
Please understand if we tell you that we have to sit down, lie down or take our meds, that we have to do it now. Chronic illness doesn't wait for a convenient time. It does not feel good to have to stop what we are doing to tend to our health. Remember that we didn't ask for this. We mourn for our lives before illness, when we were free to pursue all our dreams and hopes. We hope you understand.