Hepatitis C is caused by the virus HCV, which attacks the liver causing massive inflammation. Around 170 million people have chronic hepatitis, and about 400,000 people die yearly from the infection. The disease causes cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Persistent infection occurs from 50 to 80% of people infected. The lack of a productive cell culture system means that the virus lifecycle is partly understood, and the mode of entry remains unknown. Infection occurs due to weak CD4+ and CD8+ cell responses that make it hard to control viral replication. After infection, lesions develop on the liver as they are an immune response (Samji, 2017).
Hepatitis C is transmitted through exposure to infected blood or bodily fluids, which contain blood. It is transmitted through the sharing of needles and sharp objects, sexual intercourse, and birth from a Hepatitis C infected mother. Acute HCV should not be treated. There are several therapies recommended to treat HCV. SVR is one of treatment applied orally, and over 90% of patients are cured (Dhawan, 2019).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The symptoms of HCV include loss of appetite, fever, dark urine, clay-colored stool, jaundice, abdominal pain, and nausea. Patients should be advised to avoid alcohol because alcohol consumption can accelerate cirrhosis and liver disease. Patients should be taught about the new effective direct antivirals. Nurses should encourage the patients to get vaccinated against Hepatitis A and B, even if they do not have liver disease. Hepatitis C patients should be educated about the low possibility of transmitting the virus to their sexual partners. Nurses should teach them to avoid sharing personal items such as razors and toothbrushes with other people. They should also prevent blood transfusion and semen donation (Pawlotsky, 2004).
References
Dhawan, V. K. (2019). Hepatitis C. Medscape .
Pawlotsky. (2004). Pathophysiology of hepatitis C virus infection and related liver disease. Pubmed .
Samji, N. S. (2017). Viral Hepatitis. Medscape .
