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Understanding Hepatitis C - and How To Cure It

Date: 01/01/21

The hepatitis C virus, or HCV, is spread by direct contact with an infected person's blood.  It is the most common blood-borne disease in the United States.  Infection with the hepatitis C virus is very serious and can lead to chronic liver disease. There is no vaccine for HCV, but there is a new, safe and effective treatment that can cure 95% of people living with the virus. This treatment is available at no cost to Medicaid members in Louisiana.

Here’s what you need to know about HCV:

  • HCV is a virus spread from one person to another through contact with blood of an infected person. The virus causes permanent damage leading to cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer.
  • Hepatitis C acts very slowly – most people don’t have any symptoms. Even without symptoms, liver conditions can develop 10 to 30+ years after being infected. That’s why people can have hepatitis C for decades without knowing it.
  • When people do have symptoms, they may experience weight loss, fatigue, poor appetite, fever, vomiting and occasionally joint pain, hives or rash.
  • Hepatitis C can remain infectious in blood outside of the body for several days or weeks.

Are you at risk?

Hepatitis C is transmitted when blood or other body fluids are exchanged with an infected person. Risks include:

  • Sharing needles and other drug injection equipment (like cookers and cotton)
  • Sexual activities that involve blood, such as anal sex or rough vaginal sex
  • Perinatal, from mother to baby at birth 
  • Body piercing or tattooing using unsterilized needles or shared inkwells
  • Sharing objects that may contain traces of blood, like snorting straws, toothbrushes, razors or manicure products

You can reduce your risk for HCV. Never share drug use equipment including: needles, syringes, cotton, rinse water, cookers, spoons, straws or pipes or any other drug use supplies. Also, using condoms and lubrication during sex can reduce the risk of tearing/bleeding.

Should you be tested?

You may be at risk for HCV and should contact your healthcare provider for a blood test if you:

  • Were born between 1945 and 1965 (Baby Boomer).
  • Received donated blood or organs before 1992.
  • Were notified that you received blood from a donor who later tested positive for HCV.
  • Have ever injected illegal drugs—even if it was only once or many years ago.
  • Are on dialysis.
  • Were born to a mother living with HCV.
  • Have ever gotten a tattoo or piercing in a non-professional setting where equipment such as ink, inkwells or needles are re-used or not sterilized.
  • Have had multiple sexual partners, or sexual contact with an HCV-positive person.

Hepatitis C can be cured.

New and improved treatments are available that can cure hepatitis C in 95% of people. Treatment is usually one pill a day for a few months. Remember: Even if you are cured, you can get infected again. There is no vaccine to prevent you from contracting Hepatitis C again.

If you are a Louisiana Medicaid beneficiary or in a Louisiana correctional facility, your treatment is covered at no cost to you.

To get connected to treatment, find a list of locations here: https://www.louisianahealthhub.org/sexual-health-and-stds/hepatitis/testing-treatment/ or see a map of treatment locations here: http://ldh.la.gov/HepCTreatment.

If you are enrolled in Louisiana Healthcare Connections and would like assistance obtaining screening, testing or treatment, please request assistance by calling Member Services at 888-595-8133, Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.