| Hepatitis C is considered to be quite a tricky disease, | | | | of new symptomatic infections of HCV are annually |
| due to the fact that the virus acts in silence and can | | | | discovered. In US there are annually 26,000 new HCV |
| infect a person for many years until doctors find out. | | | | infections discovered. |
| The Center for Disease Control (CDC), has declared | | | | In the future, HCV will become a major problem for the |
| Hepatitis C to be a "silent epidemic" and it seems that | | | | health system because many people who have only |
| 20 to 30 % people affected of chronic Hepatitis C are | | | | mild symptoms will progress to an end-stage liver and |
| exposed to future life threatening symptoms. | | | | then to liver cancer, so there will be a 528% increase |
| Hepatitis C was first observed in US in 1960, after | | | | in the need for transplantation over the next 10 or 20 |
| blood transfusions and drug injections began to be | | | | years. |
| widely applied. Nobody knew exactly how many | | | | The treatment options include conventional interferon |
| people got affected by the disease, until 1990 when | | | | (now outdated), combined conventional interferon and |
| HCV blood tests have developed. Studies have | | | | ribavirin, pegylated interferon, and combined pegylated |
| proved that in 20 years a person affected of chronicle | | | | interferon and ribavirin. Successful treatment can be |
| C Hepatitis will develop cirrhosis, and many of them will | | | | achieved in up to 80% of patients infected with |
| turn into liver cancer. Patients with HCV are | | | | genotype 2 or 3, and less effective in those with |
| considered to be in need for a liver transplant. | | | | genotype 1. |
| More than 4 million Americans (1.3% of the U.S. | | | | There is no natural cure for HCV, the natural products |
| population) and 170 million individuals in the world (3% | | | | can only protect and support the liver. Another medical |
| worldwide) are infected with hepatitis C virus. The | | | | product is the Maximum Milk Thistle which has scientific |
| prevalence (number of cases in a population at a | | | | validation and is considered to be helpful. |
| specific time) of hepatitis C virus infections varies in | | | | Until now, no vaccine has proved to be effective, and |
| different parts of the world. It seems that in Eastern | | | | scientists are still looking for a solution. Compounds that |
| Europe the prevalence is higher than in Western | | | | specifically interfere with the reproduction of the |
| Europe. It is estimated that 13 cases/100,000 persons | | | | hepatitis C virus are now being studied as well. |