Hepatitis C is inflammation of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus. A number of people will experience no symptoms, while others will experience symptoms ranging from mild to severe. Left untreated, hepatitis C can lead to scarring of the liver and serious liver disease.
About 117,810 people in Australia were living with hepatitis C at the end of 2020. Of these, one in five are unaware of their infection. About 8,000 people in Australia are diagnosed with hepatitis C each year and in 2016, 530 died from hepatitis C related disease. In South Australia, an estimated 5,520 people are still living with hepatitis C despite the availability of highly effective treatment with few side effects.
Hepatitis C disease progression
One in four infected by the hepatitis C virus will clear the virus spontaneously within 12 months. The remaining three quarters will likely go on to develop chronic hepatitis C. Of these about five to ten per cent will develop cirrhosis at around 20 years after infection. Four to five per cent of those will develop serious liver disease and one to two per cent will develop liver cancer. (Source) Factors which affect outcome include:
- age when first infected
- alcohol use
- co-infection with hepatitis B virus and/or HIV, and
- obesity
Hepatitis C symptoms
During the initial (acute) phase of infection a small number of people may experience flu-like symptoms. However, most people do not experience any symptoms for the first 10 years or more (if at all) after their initial infection, which may go unnoticed.
Symptoms of long-term (chronic) infection can range from mild to severe and can occur continuously or in bouts. The most common symptoms of chronic hepatitis C infection are:
- fatigue or tiredness;
- lethargy;
- nausea and discomfort in the abdomen;
- feeling ill after consuming alcohol or fatty food; and
- depression
