Hepatitis C Specialists in Chennai, Tamil Nadu

What is Hepatitis C?

Hepatitis C is a viral infection of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus, which is transmitted primarily through contact with infected blood, most often through unsafe injection practices, unscreened blood transfusions, or use of contaminated medical equipment. Unlike hepatitis B, most people who contract hepatitis C, roughly three-quarters, develop a chronic infection that persists silently for years or decades, often without causing any symptoms until significant liver damage has already occurred. Chronic hepatitis C infection progressively scars the liver and significantly raises the risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer over time if left untreated. A major medical advance over the past decade has been the development of highly effective oral antiviral medications that can cure the vast majority of hepatitis C infections within a few months of treatment. Because early infection is often silent, screening of at-risk individuals is important for timely diagnosis and cure before serious liver damage develops.

Causes of Hepatitis C

Caused by infection with the hepatitis C virus, transmitted primarily through exposure to infected blood, including through unscreened blood transfusions, sharing of needles among people who inject drugs, use of unsterilised medical or tattooing equipment, and less commonly through sexual contact or from mother to child during childbirth. Individuals who received blood transfusions before widespread screening became available, healthcare workers with needlestick exposure, and people who inject drugs are at higher risk. Unlike some other viral infections, there is currently no vaccine available for hepatitis C.

Symptoms of Hepatitis C

Often asymptomatic for years, fatigue, joint pain, abdominal discomfort in the upper right area, jaundice in some cases, dark urine, nausea, in advanced disease signs of cirrhosis such as fluid retention or easy bruising

Treatment & Types of Hepatitis C in Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Modern treatment relies on direct-acting antiviral medications taken orally for eight to twelve weeks, which cure the infection in the large majority of patients with minimal side effects. Treatment is generally recommended for essentially all patients with chronic hepatitis C, regardless of the stage of liver disease, given the high success rate and improving accessibility of these medications. Patients who already have significant liver scarring or cirrhosis at the time of diagnosis require ongoing monitoring for liver cancer even after successful viral cure.

Hepatitis C infection is classified as acute, the initial infection phase, versus chronic, which develops in roughly three-quarters of those infected and persists silently for years. Chronic infection is further staged by the degree of liver fibrosis, from minimal scarring to cirrhosis, which determines monitoring needs even after the virus itself is successfully cured.

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