Hepatitis C is usually not recognized until it has reached chronic stage and so it is known as silent killer. Read on to know about all the hepatitis C stages, as it might help detect the disease earlier.
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is responsible for causing the acute or chronic liver disease of hepatitis C, the transmission of which takes place only through blood. Even though hospitals and nursing homes today screen the blood to check for hepatitis C, before any transfusion, ruling out hepatitis C transmission by this means, it is estimated that about three percent of the world's population is chronically infected with hepatitis C currently. This includes four million people in the United States, making it one of the greatest public health threats of the century. According to the available statistics, more than 80 percent of hepatitis C infections become chronic.
