HEPATITIS C

For a very long time, this hepatitis had no identity except as non-A, non-B hepatitis. It was a diagnosis of exclusion. In 1989, the hepatitis C virus was discovered. It is one of the major causes of blood borne transmitted hepatitis as well as by inoculation by intravenous drug use. A significant percentage of patients progress to chronic disease with eventual cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, or death.