Inc. Hepatitis is an infection which causes inflammation and infection of the liver, the organ responsible for filtering blood and assisting digestion. Then, something that wasn't Type A or Type B came along. It is estimated that 4 million Americans are infected with hepatitis C. More than 20,000 new cases are diagnosed every year. Caused by a virus, untreated cases can cause liver failure or even de4ath. Once a person contracts the virus, it may not become apparent for years.
Diagnosis comes with a blood test that looks for antibodies to the virus.
It can take as long as six months for the test to detect the antibodies. Follow-up blood tests often are necessary to watch how the liver is functioning. Hepatitis C is the leading cause of liver transplants in this country. The only treatment now available is interferon. It does no eliminate the virus but suppresses it.