The hepatitis C virus is the cause of hepatitis C, which is an inflammation of the liver. The virus can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis, with severity ranging from a mild illness to a devastating, lifelong condition involving cancer and liver cirrhosis. Hepatitis C is a bloodborne virus that is mostly contracted through blood exposure. It can be from unsafe injection procedures, hazardous medical care, unscreened blood transfusions, injectable drug usage, and sexual activities that result in blood exposure. In this article, we will discuss what to expect and the usual treatment when you are HCV-positive, especially during pregnancy.
What should you expect when you are HCV-positive?
Confirmation of a chronic HCV infection requires the presence of HCV RNA. Therefore, a positive HCV Ab screening test must follow by a test for the HCV RNA. Within one to two weeks of exposure, the HCV RNA testing can do the detection of the virus. The viral infection known as hepatitis C damages the liver. It can result in long-term chronic sickness as well as acute illness. It might endanger life.
Fever, exhaustion, appetite loss, nausea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort, dark urine, and yellowing of the skin or eyes (jaundice) are some of the symptoms that may be present. There’s no prevention for Hepatitis C, although antiviral drugs can help manage it. Prompt identification and intervention can avert severe liver impairment and enhance enduring well-being.
Most acute HCV infections do not result in fatal illnesses and are typically asymptomatic. Within six months of infection, 15%–45% of infected individuals spontaneously recover from the virus without receiving any medical attention. The remaining 70% (55–85%) of people will develop chronic HCV infection. The chance of developing cirrhosis in 20 years varies from 15% to 30% in people with chronic HCV infection.
How does HCV positivity affect pregnancy?
Hepatitis C testing usually follows with an HCV antibody test. This, if comes positive, indicates a history of past or present HCV infection. A PCR test for HCV RNA should be performed on any pregnant individual who tests positive for HCV antibodies to ascertain their current infection status. Tests for HCV should be performed on children whose mothers have HCV infection; HCV RNA testing can be done as early as two months of age but testing for HCV antibodies (anti-HCV) shouldn’t be done before eighteen months because the mother’s antibodies to the virus may persist until then.
Hepatitis C virus infection during pregnancy is linked to an increased unfavourable foetal outcomes. For instance, low birth weight and foetal development iterations. The virus may pass/transfer from mother to child in gestation or during the peripartum period. HCV can transmit less frequently through sexual behaviours that expose people to blood, such as having sex with men and having several sexual partners, as well as from an infected mother to her unborn child. Breast milk, food, water, or incidental contact with an infected person, such as hugging, kissing, or sharing food or drinks, do not transmit hepatitis C.
People with risk factors, pregnant women, and all adults needs to undergo tests for hepatitis C. To rule out any liver damage or injury, ensure that antiviral treatment takes place at the appropriate time. Pregnant individuals with a newly diagnosed HCV-positive or infection and abnormal serum aminotransferase and/or platelet levels should be referred for further medical screening or treatment right away. Health providers should report HCV infection in a pregnant person to the infant’s healthcare provider. So that, the post-HCV testing follows at the recommended time.
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