Hepatitis C history and symptoms

Early studies of viral loads in eleven asymptomatically infected viral carriers (blood donors in 1989, prior to implementation of blood bank screening for HCV, and from whom the donated blood units were rejected because of elevated alanine transaminase (ALT) liver enzyme levels) indicated that asymptomatic viral loads in blood plasma varied between 100/mL and 50,000,000/mL.

Approximately 70%–80% of people with acute Hepatitis C do not have any symptoms. If symptoms occur, the average time is 6–7 weeks after exposure, but this can range from 2 weeks to 6 months. However, many people infected with the Hepatitis C virus do not develop symptoms. Some people, however, can have mild to severe symptoms soon after being infected, including

• Fever
• Fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Dark urine
• Clay-colored bowel movements
• Joint pain
• Jaundice (yellow color in the skin or eyes)

Most people with chronic Hepatitis C do not have any symptoms. However, if a person has been infected for many years, his or her liver may be damaged. In many cases, there are no symptoms of the disease until liver problems have developed. In persons without symptoms, Hepatitis C is often detected during routine blood tests to measure liver function and liver enzyme (protein produced by the liver) level.

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