- Hepatitis C is infectious disease caused by blood-borne virus hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver.
- Significant number of people infected with Hepatitis C develop cirrhosis of liver or liver cancer, which are responsible for 3,99,000 Hepatitis C deaths annually across the world.
- About 1.2 crore people in India are reported to be suffering from Hepatitis C— six times the number of HIV/AIDS patients.
- Hepatitis C can spread through use of injectable drugs, unsafe health care, unsafe injection practises and transfusion of unscreened blood and blood products.
- However, unlike Hepatitis B, it is not sexually transmitted.
- There is no known vaccine for Hepatitis C.