The hepatitis C virus is a small, enveloped, single-stranded, RNA virus in the Flaviviridae family. The virus is able to enter liver cells from the blood and then use those cells to make more copies of the hepatitis C virus. As more and more of the hepatitis C virus is made in the liver cells, they can become damaged and may even die.
Just as there are different types of hepatitis viruses, there are also a few different types of the hepatitis C virus itself. Though they all cause hepatitis C, each type of the virus has a slightly different arrangement of its genetic material, in this case called RNA. The specific arrangement of the RNA is called the genotype.
The main
hepatitis C genotypes are known simply as genotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Of these different genotypes, genotype 1 is the type most commonly found in the United States. Between 70 to 90 percent of Americans with hepatitis C have this genotype. Hepatitis C virus genotypes 2 and 3 are less common. Only 10 to 20 percent of infected people in the US have either of these genotypes.
How Is Hepatitis C Spread?
The hepatitis C virus is spread mostly through infected blood and blood products, whether it is from working in a laboratory or a dialysis unit, by infected needles used for tattoos or body piercing, or through sharing drug needles.
In a very few cases, people have been infected with hepatitis C by sharing objects that may have a very tiny amount of blood on them, such as a toothbrush, razor, or tools used for manicures.
In rare cases, hepatitis C is spread through sexual intercourse. A person cannot get
hepatitis C from a kiss or other normal everyday activities, such as hugging or shaking hands.
