According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver caused by a virus, which can be acute or chronic, and whose clinical signs can be mild but can also become severe, chronic and lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Transmission of the hepatitis C virus is blood-borne and most infections occur through exposure to blood due to unsafe injection or health care practices, unscreened blood transfusions, injection drug use, and sexual practices involving contact with blood.

WHO estimates that about 242,000 people died from hepatitis C in 2022, mostly from cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (primary liver cancer).

Direct-acting antiviral drugs can cure more than 95 percent of cases of this infection, but access to diagnosis and treatment is scarce.

Initially the only way to detect the virus is through a blood test, but over time the disease becomes more severe, producing inflammation in the liver that can eventually lead to cirrhosis or even liver cancer.

In general, the incubation period of hepatitis C can vary from two weeks to six months, and during this time, the infected person may present symptoms such as fever, fatigue, lack of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, joint pain and yellowish skin and eyes (jaundice).

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