An infection in the liver that can get severe and cause severe damage to the liver is known as hepatitis C. The infection is caused by a virus known as the hepatitis C virus. It has affected around 3.9 million people living in the U.S.

Here’s having a look at the causes and diagnosis of hepatitis C.

Causes and risk factors of hepatitis C
The hepatitis C virus is what causes the infection. The virus can be contracted by coming in contact with contaminated blood. To contract the infection, the blood that contains the hepatitis C virus must enter the body of a healthy human. Even a small drop of blood, which might not even be visible to the naked eyes, can have several particles of the hepatitis C virus. This virus does not die easily.

To prevent coming in contact with the hepatitis C virus, the CDC advises cleaning the syringes each time before use, if using new or sterile ones is not possible. Other methods of sterilization, such as boiling, cleaning with alcohol, or using other liquids on the syringes, can reduce the quantity of the virus. Still, it is not enough to prevent a person from getting infected.

There are various risk factors associated with hepatitis C. These include the following.

• Taking drugs through injections
  Administering illegal drugs through injections is one of the most common ways of getting infected with the virus in the U.S.

• Getting an organ transplant or transfusions
  If a person has got a transfusion or an organ transplant before 1992, they can be at risk. This is because blood screening was made available only after 1992.

• Being exposed to needles
  Getting exposed to needle sticks is another risk factor associated with hepatitis C. This is usually common in people who work at hospitals.

• Having a mother with hepatitis C
  If the mother has been infected, it is likely for the child to be infected by the virus.

Diagnosis of hepatitis C
Being aware of the causes and diagnosis of hepatitis C can help you fight the condition largely. To diagnose hepatitis C, the doctor can order blood tests, which will include the following.

• Test for antibodies
  This will be the first blood test that the doctor will order. This will be done to see if hepatitis C antibodies are present in the blood. In case the test comes positive, it means that that person had come in contact with the virus. However, this does not mean that the person has an ongoing infection.

• RNA test
  If the first test comes positive, the second round of blood tests will be ordered by the doctor. This is known as the hepatitis C RNA test. This is ordered to see if the virus is still present in the blood.

• Genotype test
  This is the third blood test, which is ordered to see which type, out of the 6 types, is present in the blood.