Hepatitis C is a disease of the liver caused by a viral infection. The viral infection causes inflammation in your liver. Sometimes the liver inflammation can lead to serious liver damage. Typically, the virus that causes hepatitis C spreads through tainted blood. The contaminated blood enters your bloodstream. This causes you to become infected with the disease. Several forms of the virus exist. The most common is type 2 in the United States. Regardless of the type of hepatitis C you have, the symptoms and treatments are usually the same.Treatment for Hepatitis C is a course of antiviral medications. The prescribed medications work by eliminating the virus. At the end of your treatment, your test results should not detect any of the virus in your body. This occurs at least 12 weeks after you’ve completed treatment. A liver transplant may be needed if your liver has become too damage from scarring to work properly. A liver transplant is not a cure for hepatitis C. Complications of hepatitis C all involve the liver. You may develop cirrhosis, which is a scarring of the liver.
