Whether or not such symptoms develop, between half and three quarters of patients will clear the virus and develop immunity to it, exactly as happens with Hepatitis A and with most viral illnesses such as influenza or measles, for example. But between a quarter and a half of those initially infected will continue to be infected over many years. Some of these people have little or no liver damage, and their only long-term risk is that they may develop primary liver cancer. But half or more of those who are chronically infected will show progressive damage to the liver due to chronic Hepatitis C infection. The symptoms suffered by those with Chronic Hepatitis C vary from person to person.
Some people have no symptoms until the liver has been quite severely damaged.
Others suffer tiredness, fatigue, nausea, and perhaps mild abdominal discomfort. The major threat of this condition is that it slowly damages the liver, with the inflammation leading to scars forming, and eventually, when scarring of the liver starts to impair its ability to perform its normal functions, cirrhosis of the liver results, and in time, this cirrhosis will prove fatal. Fortunately, Hepatitis C advances to cirrhosis very slowly - usually over decades rather than years. If there is a suspicion of chronic active hepatitis from any cause, blood tests are required to show whether hepatitis virus infection is present, and liver function tests can identify those in whom some liver damage is occurring. To establish the severity of liver damage, a liver biopsy may be required.