Anyone can be infected with the hepatitis C virus. However, people most likely to be infected with the hepatitis C virus include individuals who: (1.) had a blood transfusion and or received an organ transplant such as kidney, lung, or heart, before effective screening began in July 1992; (2.) have been or are on long term kidney dialysis (hemodialysis); (3.) received treatment with a clotting factor concentrate manufactured before 1987; (4.) have ever injected illegal drugs, even once; (5.

Only with a blood test. A person can be Hepatitis C -infected for many years while looking and feeling healthy, with no signs at all of being sick.

It is possible to be co-infected with HIV or hepatitis B, primarily because these two diseases are spread in the same manner as hepatitis C.

Hepatitis C is a virus that causes chronic inflammation of the liver and liver disease. About four to five million Americans have hepatitis C and more than 15,000 new cases develop each year.

Many people don't know how they became infected with hepatitis C. Since many people do not experience any symptoms, several years can pass between when a person is infected and when a person is diagnosed with hepatitis C. The hepatitis C virus is only spread through direct contact with infected blood. In the past, this most frequently occurred when people received 'tainted' blood or blood products.

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is spread mostly from contact with infected blood, such as a blood transfusion (before 1992), kidney dialysis, or through injecting drug use. It is rarely sexually transmitted, although sex with multiple partners or a history of sexually transmitted diseases can put people at risk for it. The virus can enter the body through minor cuts or scrapes by razors, toothbrushes or on needles used for tattooing, body piercing or on materials used to snort drugs.

In 1987, Michael Houghton and colleagues at Chiron Corporation in California discovered part of the genetic material of HCV using molecular recombinant technology. This discovery allowed the development of tests to detect specific antibodies. The first enzyme immunoassay (EIA) test made available in 1989 employed only a single recombinant protein to detect antibodies and produced a significant proportion of both false positive and false negative results.

It is believed that HCV has existed for thousands of years. Before 1990, hepatitis C used to be called non-A non-B hepatitis. Doctors could only guess what was causing non-A non-B hepatitis until, in 1988, using genetic engineering, scientists discovered the virus responsible for causing the illness and called it hepatitis C virus. HCV can mutate or change slightly at a rapid rate and this is believed to be one explanation why the human antibody response does not eliminate the infection.

Families adopting children from countries where hepatitis B is common (Asia, Eastern Europe, South American and Africa)

The virus can infect anyone, but there are a number of situations that can increase the risk of infection: 1. A blood transfusion or organ transplant (kidney, lung or heart) that occurred prior to hepatitis screening in July 1992. 2. Kidney dialysis for an extended period of time in the past or present 3. Being treated with a clotting factor concentrate that was produced prior to 1987 4. The use of illegal drugs that are injected 5. Sexual intercourse with multiple partners 6.

Children should not be tested for anti-HCV before 12 months of age as anti-HCV from the mother may last until this age. If testing is desired prior to 12 months of age, PCR could be performed at or after an infant's first well-child visit at age 1-2 months.

Since HCV is usually spread through direct contact with infected blood or blood products, people who are most likely to get it are as follows: drug users who share needles, spoons, straws and other drug-related equipment that are contaminated with HCV

No. Not everyone with chronic hepatitis B needs to be on medication. Your doctor can help decide whether drug therapy would help you.

Hepatitis A virus is spread from person to person by putting something in the mouth that has been contaminated with the stool of a person with hepatitis A. This type of transmission is called "fecal-oral." For this reason, the virus is more easily spread in areas where there are poor sanitary conditions or where good personal hygiene is not observed. Most infections result from contact with a household member or sex partner who has hepatitis A.

HAV can live outside the body for months, depending on the environmental conditions. HAV is killed by heating to 185 degrees F. (85 degrees C.) for one minute. However, HAV can still be spread from cooked food if it gets contaminated after cooking. Adequate chlorination of water, as recommended in the US, kills HAV that may get into the water supply.

All natural H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) infections in domestic cats reported to date appear to have been associated with outbreaks in domestic or wild birds and acquired through ingestion of raw meat likely infected with the H5N1 HPAI virus. Fortunately, there is no evidence to date that domestic cats play a role in the natural transmission cycle of H5N1 HPAI viruses.

There is not enough information available about H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) infection in dogs to know how infection would develop. Domestic cats in Europe appear to have become infected by eating infected poultry or wild birds. Details concerning a case of H5N1 infection in a dog in October 2004 were recently published; the dog was infected after it ate the carcass of an infected duck. View the report on the CDC Web site.

You will need to install a good antivirus package such as AVG or update the definitions of your existing software and run a full scan. Also, you might want to visit http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/. just to make sure that your computer is fully updated with the latest security patches.

In most cases, people infected with hepatitis C experience no symptoms. Hepatitis C is a very slow moving virus, so symptoms my not even present themselves for 20 years or longer. The most common symptoms of hepatitis C are fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, muscle or joint pain, and jaundice (a yellowing of the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes).

Hepatitis C is a blood borne virus, and is transmitted through direct blood-to-blood contact. The most common ways for hepatitis C to be transmitted is through sharing needles with an infected person, having had a blood transfusion prior to 1992, sharing personal care items such has razors that could have infected blood on them, and from mother to child during childbirth. in rare cases, hepatitis C can be transmitted through sex.

It is possible to transmit hepatitis C through sex, but it is not an efficient transmission method. It is much more likely to get hepatitis C through sharing needles or "works", or having had a blood transfusion before 1992. Having a sexually transmitted disease or having sex that involves blood can increase the risk of getting hepatitis C through sex.

Hepatitis C is interesting in that about 15% of people who get the infection can clear the virus completely out of their bodies naturally within the first 6 months of their infection. This means that those people are no longer infected and can no longer spread the virus to other people. However, 85% of people with hepatitis C will become chronic carriers. These people will always be capable of transmitting the virus to others through blood.

Yes. People who have cleared the virus either naturally or through medication can become infected again. Also, people who have active hepatitis C can become infected with additional genotypes (strains) of hepatitis C.