WHAT IS HEPATITIS C?
Hepatitis C is inflammation of the liver due to a virus called the hepatitis C virus (HCV). After the discovery of hepatitis A virus in 1973 and hepatitis B virus in 1963, the remaining hepatitis viruses were lumped into the category of non-A non-B (NANB) hepatitis. Any cases of acute or chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis without identifiable causes were suspected to be a result of the NANB hepatitis viruses. In 1989, a major breakthrough regarding this mysterious and intriguing disease occurred—the hepatitis C virus was identified. Now, HCV is believed to be the virus responsible for more than 90 percent of all cases of NANB hepatitis.
HCV is the most common cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer in the United States. More than 4 million Americans (approximately 2 percent of the United States population) and more than 170 million people worldwide( approximately 3 percent of the world’s population) are infected with HCV. (HCV is more prevalent in Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, South East Asia and the Western Pacific than in the United States). The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that only a small percentage (probably around 5 percent) of infected individuals are even aware that they harbor this virus in their bodies.
People between the ages of 40-59 are most likely to be diagnosed with HCV. And it is estimated that there will be a fourfold increase in the number of adults diagnosed with HCV by the year 2015. While HCV can infect anyone with risk factors, it has been found to be more common among certain subgroups of people. For example, the prevalence (number or percentage of existing people that are infected) of HCV among prison inmates is between 39-54 percent, among intravenous drug users between 70-90 percent, and among those attending Veterans Administration outpatient clinics between 18-40 percent.
While the incidence of people becoming acutely infected with HCV is decreasing in the United States, approximately 8,000 to 12,000 deaths are attributed to hepatitis C each year . Moreover, it is estimated that in the absence of appropriate therapy, this number will triple within the next two decades. In fact, chronic hepatitis C is the most common reason that a person will need to undergo a liver transplant in the United States.All contents of this article are Copyright © Melissa Palmer, MD
Melissa Palmer, MD is the author of " Dr. Melissa Palmer's Guide of Hepatitis and Liver Disease". (Published 2004. Penguin Putnam).
Dr. Palmer is an internationally renowned hepatologist who has been practicing medicine since 1985. Prior to 2012, she maintained perhaps the largest medical practice devoted to liver disease in the United States. Dr. Palmer is Clinical Professor of Medicine at New York University Medical Center. Dr. Palmer graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. and was trained in hepatology (as well as medical school) at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
Dr. Palmer is Board Certified in Gastroenterology and in Internal Medicine.
She has authored numerous scientific publications in the field of hepatology in such peer-reviewed journals as Hepatology, Gastroenterology, Seminars of Liver Disease, Transplantation and Archives of Internal Medicine.
She is frequently called upon by the media for her opinion on various topics related to liver disease. Dr. Palmer has appeared many times on television as a liver disease expert and has been quoted in such publications as TIME magazine, Cosmopolitan magazine, Prevention magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and Newsday. She also has appeared in numerous videos and CD-Roms aimed at educating doctors and the public about hepatitis C and other liver diseases, such as primary biliary cirrhosis. Dr. Palmer lectures to the medical and general public on liver disease-related topics on a regular basis.
Dr. Palmer has performed numerous clinical trials on various experimental medications for the treatment of hepatitis.
Dr. Palmer is currently available for lecturing, investor and hedge-fund consultations, consultations to industry, and media interviews and appearances-- including television. For such matters, she can be contacted through hepatitismedia@gmail.com.
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