We recently learned one of our acquaintances is diagnosed positive for hepatitis "C". Is this a contagious disease? Should we be worried about being around this person, accepting food at their home, etc?
REPLY:
The primary means of acquiring the virus which causes hepatitis C (HCV) is by contact with infected blood. Before all blood was tested (i.e. before there was a test for HCV) this virus was unfortunately spread by transfusion. Needle sharing among drug addicts is also (obviously) a easy way to get the disease from an infected person. You have nothing to fear from casual contact with your friend, visits to his home, partaking in his food, etc.
The information below is reproduced from a New York State Department of Health Fact Sheet on Hepatitis C.
NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Hepatitis C
What is hepatitis C?
Hepatitis C (formerly called non-A, non-B hepatitis) is a liver disease caused by a recently identified bloodborne virus. Other types of viral hepatitis include hepatitis A (formerly called infectious hepatitis), hepatitis B (serum hepatitis), hepatitis D (delta hepatitis) and hepatitis E (a virus transmitted through the feces of an infected person). Approximately 200 cases of hepatitis C are reported in New York State each year.
Who gets hepatitis C?
Hepatitis C occurs most often in people who have received a blood transfusion or who have shared needles.
How is the virus spread?
Like hepatitis B, hepatitis C is spread by exposure to blood from an infected person, such as through a blood transfusion or sharing needles. The risk of sexual transmission has not been thoroughly studied but appears to be small. There is no evidence that the hepatitis C virus can be transmitted by casual contact, through foods or by coughing or sneezing.
What are the symptoms?
Some people experience appetite loss, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, vague stomach pain and jaundice (a yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes).
How soon do symptoms occur?
Symptoms may occur from two weeks to six months after exposure but usually within two months.
When and for how long is a person able to spread hepatitis C?
Some people carry the virus in their bloodstream and may remain contagious for years. The disease may occur in the acute form and be followed by recovery or it may become chronic and cause symptoms for years.
What is the treatment for hepatitis C?
There are no special medicines or antibiotics that can be used to treat people with the acute form of hepatitis C but the FDA has approved a drug called recombinant alpha interferon for treating people with chronic hepatitis C.
Is donated blood tested for this virus?
Since May 1990, blood donation centers throughout the U.S. have routinely used a blood donor screening test for hepatitis C. Widespread use of this test has significantly reduced the number of post-transfusion hepatitis C cases.
What are the possible consequences of hepatitis C?
Approximately 25 percent of people infected with hepatitis C virus will become sick with jaundice or other symptoms of hepatitis. Fifty percent of these individuals may go on to develop chronic liver disease.
How can the spread of hepatitis C be prevented?
People who have had hepatitis C should remain aware that their blood and possibly other body fluids are potentially infective. Care should be taken to avoid blood exposure to others by sharing toothbrushes, razors, needles, etc. In addition, infected people must not donate blood and should inform their dental or medical care providers so that proper precautions can be followed. The risk of sexual transmission of hepatitis C virus has not been thoroughly investigated but appears to be minimal. Several studies suggest that spread seldom occurs from people with chronic hepatitis C disease to their steady sexual partners. Therefore, limitations on sexual activity with steady partners may not be needed. However, people with acute illness and multiple sexual partners may be at greater risk and should use condoms to reduce the risk of acquiring or transmitting hepatitis C as well as other sexually transmitted infections.
Is there a vaccine for hepatitis C?
At the present time, a hepatitis C vaccine is not available. A safe and effective vaccine for hepatitis B is in widespread use in the U.S. and a new experimental vaccine for hepatitis A is undergoing clinical trials.
(The hepatitis A vaccine is now available and in everyday use.)
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Bruce Sckolnick, M.D.
NOTICE: OFCN is not engaged in the rendering of professional medical services. The information contained on this system or any other OFCN system should not supplant individual professional consultation. It is offered exclusively as a community education service. Advice on individual problems must be obtained directly from a professional.
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