Question: Dear Dave,
1)how can I know that how long HCV+ can alive after infected by HCV.
2)As I know HCV can cause Liver failure, liver cancer and finally death.
3) On what factors it depends HCV progression?
4) I read somewhere on net that it could take 25 to 30 years so that HCV can cause death.
1. A chronic infection (long term) develops in somewhere between 55% up to 85% of infected people.
That means that after the initial infection, the body is not able to suppress the pathogen. The pathogen then persists indefinitely. If left untreated the pathogen can exist for the lifetime of the patient.
Current drug therapies include the use of pegylated interferon and ribavirin. Depending on the specifics of the HCV virus the person is infected with, the drug combination can get rid of HCV in 5 out of 10 people or 8 out of 10 people.
2. As for the specific diseases that HCV can cause or contribute too, check with your doctor. He may look for the signs of these diseases and take appropriate action when warranted. It is certainly reasonable to be slightly worried about HCV causing or contributing to these liver diseases.
3. HCV progression can be accentuated by drinking alcohol. An additional infection of HIV, Hepatits A or B can make problems worse. Anything that can harm the liver could add to the problems that HCV causes.
4. One to five percent of infected persons may die from HCV. Certainly the longer the chronic infection exists the more damage it can do to your liver. Too much damage can threaten a person’s life. Since each person is unique with varying situations it is difficult to know how long it would take for sufficient damage to happen to cause a person’s life to be in danager.
Up to Eighty percent of infected patients do not show any signs or symptoms of the disease. Some people do have symptoms and here is how they might manifest: fatigue, dark urine, loss of appetite, abdominal pain and nausea. There may be other symptoms not listed here.
Important: If you have or think you might have hepatitis C or any other liver disease or any health problem at all, or think you might, visit your doctor for diagnosis and treatment.