HCV Infection Paper

This research paper is going to review today’s silent killer, the Hepatitis C virus. This paper will talk about the description of the disease, the signs and symptoms, the etiology and risk factors, diagnostic studies, treatments and prognosis of this disease. I had lived with this disease for over ten years before diagnosed so it is important to understand the signs and symptoms so the disease can be identified and a treatment plan can be identified as the sooner it is treated the more likely it will eradicate the disease.

Hepatitis C virus is considered 10 times more infectious than HIV when comparing transmission by blood to blood contact (Wilkinson

The increasing number of citizens that are testing positive for Hepatitis C is shocking and the epidemic is just getting worse. One out of every one hundred people in the general population has Hepatitis C, but the ratio is higher in prisons. One out of every six inmates has Hepatitis C (Wegner, Rottnek, Parker and Crippin, 2014). Hepatitis C (HCV) is a blood disease that is caused by a virus and it affects the liver. Unfortunately there is no vaccine to prevent this disease and I have seen first-hand how ugly this virus is. I have worked in the medical field for the past 6 years and I have a very close friend who contracted HCV. Unfortunately, she was one of the many people that needed a liver transplant. HCV has infected four times as

About 4.1 million people in Americans have the positive antibody for hepatitis C virus (HCV), and about 75% of them are persistently infected and most of the infections happened d 20 to 40 years ago, before the finding of HCV. Hepatitis C increased from 7,000 to 13,000 deaths in 2005. Furthermore, HCV develops slowly which increases the risk for severe complications in the infected people. Identification, death, and treatment is predicted to affect 35,000 by 2030. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) used antiviral therapy with PEGylated in clinical trials. The CDC recommends a HVC one time test for people born between 1945 and 1965.They observed testing by birth. The objective of this study was to thoroughly evaluate the amount of substance abuser infected with hepatitis C in the United States. Additional to observe the treatment of HVC. Currently Medicaid and Medicare repayment standards for sofosbuvir were calculated in all states including the District of Columbia. Medicaid and Medicare covered the drug based on the following classes liver disease stage, HIV, and drug use. Approximately 42 states reimbursed the following criteria up to 74% for the drug sofobuvir. About two thirds of the United States restricted the treatment centered on prescriber type. About 88% included drug abuse in their sofosbuvir admissibility measures. Finally 50% required a dated of abstinence and 64% required drug test. The latest drug to HVC is called Sovaldi and it costs $84,000 for the 12

Lastly is unprotected sex. The virus is present in the menstrual blood of infected women, so sexual intercourse at this time creates a potentially hazardous situation. There have been reports of transmission of HCV through sexual intercourse outside menses and between males, but there is current debate as to whether this is actually possible without the presence of a skin or tissue tear or some other disease that provide an opening in the skin of both the infected person and potential recipient. Most people are surprised to learn they have hepatitis C. Many people believe, they were never at risk for acquiring the virus. They, therefore, cannot imagine how they contracted it.

Hepatitis C is a prevalent health care problem. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2016), approximately 2.7-3.9 million of the adult population in the United States is infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Some groups of people are at risk for Hepatitis C infection, including current injection drug users, people who received the blood transfusion before 1992, organ recipients from a donor who tested positive for hepatitis C virus, hemodialysis patients, and children born to a hepatitis C mother (CDC, 2016). Hepatitis C causes embarrassment and isolation from the society. Self-esteem and understanding of the family, friend and community will motivate the patient to have a good quality life in society. This

Hepatitis C is a blood transmitted virus that has been know for substandard therapies/ drug treatments. When Mr. Parish commented that currently, there is no absolute cure to HCV, my mind immediately shifted to “cancer”. People often think of cancer as the most severe illness someone can get, because there is no cure. However, we forget that in actuality, there are numerous

HCV is a blood-borne virus. This means that it spreads to a person through contact with the infected blood to another person. The most common method is promoting HCV using contaminated needles and other equipment for use in the field of medicine.

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes inflammation of the liver, eventually leading to tissue damage. Cirrhosis is the result of extensive scarring of the liver. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that HCV typically causes cirrhosis in 5 to 20 percent of infected people over a period of 20 to 30 years. Overall, cirrhosis develops 20 to 30 percent of the time. Progression to cirrhosis may be accelerated in people who are older, obese, drink alcohol, or are immune-suppressed (such as people who are coinfected with HIV).

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the Hepatitis C virus. The disease can be either acute or a chronic infection, which can be mild or a lifelong disease. This disease also is the major cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer. The disease is slow moving and sometimes take up to thirty years to damage the liver. In the United States there are an estimated three to four million people with the disease and are not even aware. Approximately thirty percent of the individuals infected within six months have no symptoms and will not even be aware that they have the disease. In the remaining seventy percent infected the disease will become chronic. According to statics one hundred and seventy million people are chronically infected worldwide.

The Hepatitis C virus is transmitted primarily through blood contact with an infected carrier and is the most common chronic blood borne infection. This can occur through needle sticks, sharing of syringes, tattoos or body piercing with unsterilized equipment, blood transfusion or organ transplant before 1992, receiving blood product for clotting, having multiple sexual partners and unprotected intercourse with an infected carrier. Other modes of transmission include being born to a mother with Hepatitis C or being a long-term dialysis patient. Risks that were once a concern such as blood transfusions and organ donation are a rare risk now due to strict blood screen testing that has been performed for at least the last decade if not longer.

Hepatitis C is an infection of the liver caused by the virus called Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). Hepatitis C can be acute and chronic, it is an asymptomatic disease, but a chronic infection can be life threatening and cause serious health complications in the future and eventually death. Many are unaware of this infection; the life threatening health risk involves liver damage, end- stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma and even death. It 's been estimated that in the United States 2.7 million people are infected with chronic HCV, whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 3.2 million (Ditah, 2010). The infected population are primarily in their fifties and sixties, born between 1945 and 1965. One attributable cause is believed to be the transmission of the contaminated blood through organ transplants and drug injections. It is expected that compensated cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) will increase by over 80 percent from the year 2000 to the year 2020. Over the same period, it is estimated that decompensated cirrhosis would increase over 100 percent and that liver-related deaths would increase by 181 percent (Davis GL, Albright JE, 2003).

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), the most common blood-borne pathogen known to man, can last a lifetime and lead to serious liver problems, including cirrhosis, liver cancer, and ultimately death. It is the leading cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer and the most common reason for liver transplantation in the United States. The largest and most significant risk factor for the virus is misuse of IV drugs. Approximately 19,000 people die every year from Hepatitis C related liver disease. The impact of undiagnosed and untreated HCV is expected to increase dramatically over the next 40 to 50 years with 1.76 million persons developing cirrhosis, 400,000 developing HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma), and 1 million persons dying from HCV-associated complications.

Despite controversial cure costs for HCV, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have recently concluded that screening for the HCV virus “is reasonable and necessary for the prevention or early detection of an illness or disability and is appropriate for individuals entitled to benefits under Part A or enrolled under Part B” (CMS, 2014). CMS now covers HCV screening by a primary care provider for adults born between 1945-1965 and for “high-risk” individuals, defined as having a current or past history of illicit injection drug use or receiving a blood transfusion prior to 1992 (CMS, 2014).

After 1992 blood banks began screening the blood for the hepatics C virus. According to Dr. Palmer on page 117 she states, that it has been estimated by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) that almost 300,000 Americans have contracted HCV prior to the advent of screening of donated blood and blood product for HIV.