About hep C

About 45,000 New Zealanders are living with hepatitis C, and approximately 40% are not yet diagnosed.

Could you be one of them?

What is Hepatitis C?

HEPATITIS MEANS INFLAMMATION OF THE LIVER

When the liver is inflamed or damaged, its function can be affected. The liver performs many vital functions, including removal of waste products, controlling bleeding, digesting food and storing energy. Hepatitis C (hep C) is inflammation of the liver that results from infection with the hep C virus, which is transmitted through blood.

Who is at Risk of Hepatitis C?

Infection can occur if you’ve been tattooed or had a body piercing with unsterile equipment, if you had a blood transfusion in New Zealand before 1992 or, if you’ve shared needles for injecting drugs – even once. However, hep C can be transmitted in many other ways too and it’s common for people not to notice any symptoms.

Many people with hep C do not have symptoms and therefore don’t know they are infected. If symptoms occur, they may be non-specific and can include feeling tired, abdominal discomfort, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, muscle aches, fever, jaundice (yellow colour in the skin or eyes) and depression. Because most people who live with hep C have no symptoms and are not aware that they are infected, over many years the virus can cause damage to the liver which can lead to serious health problems

The only way to know if you have hep C is to get tested.

The AbbVie hep C information website, www.hepCinfo.co.nz, tells you more about hep C and how to get tested and has a checklist you can complete and take to your doctor if you think you have any of the risk factors or symptoms.

» Learn more about hep C

The good news

98% of people who take MAVIRET^† as directed and who are new to treatment can expect to be cured* of their hepatitis C (hep C), meaning that the hep C virus has been cleared from the body.

† MAVIRET is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and adolescents 12 years and older with chronic (long-lasting) hepatitis C virus.

*Cure means the hep C virus is not found in the blood 3 months after treatment ends.

REFERENCES

^{Schauer C et al. NZMJ 2020;133(1515):25-34. Schauer C et al J Viral Hepat 2019;26:1372-1376. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hepatitis C General Information. http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HCV/PDFs/HepCGeneralFactSheet.pdf Accessed October 2020. National Institute for Health. How does the liver work? www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0072577/ Accessed October 2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hepatitis C FAQs for the Public. https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hcv/cfaq.htm Accessed October 2020. Adinolfi EL et al. Clin Liver Dis 2017;21:517-534. Puoti M et al. Journal of Hepatology 2018; 69 (2):293-300. AASLD and IDSA. HCV Testing and Linkage to Care www.HCVGuidance.org/ Accessed October 2020. BPACnz The Management of Hepatitis C in Primary Care has Changed. www.bpac.org.nz/hepc Accessed October 2020. MAVIRET Data Sheet.}