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HCV stands for ‘Hepatitis C Virus’ and is the cause for the disease Hepatitis C. Hepatitis causes inflammation of the liver (itis = inflammation, Hepar = of the liver) and is the most common form of the disease (other strains are A, B, D, E, F and G) with around 150 to 200 million sufferers worldwide.

There is no vaccine against Hepatitis C and the only way to prevent infection is to manage the risk factors which cause it (i.e. minimising blood-to-blood contact with anyone). Fortunately there are cures for those suffering from Hepatitis, which are in the form of long term antibiotic courses.

The severity of each case of Hepatitis varies, with blood plasma being contaminated with anywhere from 100mL to 50,000,000mL of viral cells, and this is why some cases of Hepatitis C are asymptomatic (not showing any symptoms).

The World Hepatitis Alliance, led by organisation President Charles Gore, is currently campaigning to raise awareness of Hepatitis and this culminates in World Hepatitis Awareness Day (May 19th 2008). To show your support, please sign up at www.aminumber12.org.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 at 3:54 am and is filed under health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.