Within the framework of World Hepatitis Day, Latin America recognized the actions taken by Mexico to eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, according to the Ministry of Health.
The efforts of the National Hepatitis C Virus Elimination Program have paid off, with 22,748 people cured over the past 5 years through 2,356,000 screening tests.
The program facilitates timely detection, which is a determining factor because an estimated four in every 1,000 people in the country are living with hepatitis C, yet most are unaware they have it. The most common cause is when symptoms have already progressed.
Despite the fact that the disease can be tackled through prevention and diagnostic activities, it is also crucial to understand how the disease behaves and help reduce your own risk of developing it.
Most cases of hepatitis C can be cured with medication, so follow-up and medical tests are very useful for treatment if you have the virus.
What is hepatitis C?
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, this is a viral infection that can cause liver damage and inflammation that can damage the organ. Viruses invade normal cells in the body, and many of them cause infections that are spread from person to person. In the case of hepatitis C, it is spread through contact with the blood of an infected patient. This is by parenteral injection, that is, through the use of a contaminated syringe.
The virus has an incubation period of two to six weeks. Timely diagnosis can be complicated because about 80% of infected people are asymptomatic. These include the following:
fever
fatigue
loss of appetite
nausea and vomiting
stomach ache
dark urine
light colored stool
joint pain
yellowing of the skin and eyes
If left untreated, it can lead to liver cirrhosis, liver failure, liver cancer or complications such as high blood pressure, esophageal varices, encephalopathy, frequent gastrointestinal bleeding, thrombocytopenia, and neurological and coagulation disorders.
The work of blood banks, awareness campaigns and prevention programs have successfully reduced large-scale infections. Despite this, there is still a lack of vaccines to prevent C virus infection.