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Hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) is the most common,
chronic bloodborne infection in the United States. The Hepatitis
C virus is one six viruses (A, B, C, D, E, and G) that account for
the majority of viral hepatitis cases. |
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About one in every 50 Hispanics in the United States
has Hepatitis C, which means about 2 percent of the Hispanic community
is infected. |
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Hispanics have more than a 40 percent greater chance
of being infected with the Hepatitis C virus than the general population
in the United States has, according to a study in the Journal of
the American Medical Association. |
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Hepatitis C, an inflammation of the liver, can result
in cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), liver cancer and death, and
is the leading cause of liver transplants in the United States. |
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The death toll from complications associated with
Hepatitis C, currently at 8,000 per year, is expected to triple
within the next 10 to 20 years, according to the NIH. |
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U.S. Census statistics show that by the year 2025,
the Hispanic population in the United States is project to double.
As this population grows, Hepatitis C threatens to affect more and
more Hispanics. |
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The Hepatitis C virus is spread primarily by direct
contact with contaminated blood. Anyone who received a blood transfusion
or organ transplant before July 1992 should be routinely tested
for Hepatitis C based on their risk for infection. |
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Other people at high risk includes those who have
injected illegal drugs, including one-time drug users, and those
who would not consider themselves as having been "drug users." |
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Other at-risk groups for Hepatitis C include:
- Hemophiliacs who received blood clotting factor concentrates produced
before 1987
-Long-term hemodialysis patients
-People whose blood tests show persistent (at least two occasions)
abnormal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels |
