What is the cause of "Hepatitis C " ?

blood borne virus, yes, but WHAT is the cause please? anneene

It is a blood borne virus, closely related to HIV, It is usually caused by someone being injected using an infected needle..
However, using infected blood in a transfusion can also cause Hepatitis C.
The latter cause however, is very rare, nowadays, as all blood undergoes rigorous testing.

Hepatitis C is a blood born viral infection. Hepatitis basically means inflammation of the liver. There are many causes of hepatitis. Several different viruses can infect the liver and cause Hep. One of which is Hep C. The main risk of transmittance is through contaminated needle sharing, sex and blood from an infected person.

Some people who had received blood transfusions many years ago were infected with hepatitis C from some donor blood. Currently in the UK, all blood donated is checked for the hepatitis C virus and other blood bourne infections. The risk of catching Hep C from a blood donor is very small.

Little Star - NO is it not closely related to HIV - the only thing that makes it even close to the same is that it is an RNA type virus.

There is no cause, you get a virus by having an open wound on your body exposed to contaminated objects that have had blood from someone who is infected by Hepatitis C already. I.e. infected drug needles, unsanitary tattoo parlors, knives/razors/sharp objects, sometimes contaminated toothbrushes, and rough sex where blood is involved.

HCV (Hepatitis C Virus) causes liver inflammation which can eventually lead to light scaring (called fibrosis) and then heavy scaring (called cirrosis) and in some cases the virus can cause liver cancer. This is of course if the infection is left untreated - which it can be now treated with 6-12 months of a combination of Interferon and Ribivirin.

HCV uses your liver cells to replicate...this is why your liver gets inflammed. Totally unlike HIV which uses your immune system cells to replicate.

It's blood borne...meaning it lives in the blood. It dies easily outside of the body...and it would be nearly impossible to trace the source of HVC (Hepatitus Virus C).

Some ways it can be contracted though include the following:
-Blood transfusion
-sex
-Using infected needles (the most common-through drug use)

a blood borne virus.