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Hepatitis C

German version only Hepatitis C (PDF, 1 MB, File does not meet accessibility standards.)

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by a blood-borne virus. Hepatitis C virus infection develops to chronic infection in most cases, which represents the leading cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Being one of the most common infectious diseases worldwide, hepatitis C has great medical, epidemiological and health economic impact.

Germany is among the countries with a low prevalence in the general population. There are, however, population groups with a higher prevalence, such as people who inject drugs, people living with HIV or people in prison. Transmission of the virus via blood products is extremely rare since routine screening of blood donors has been introduced. With the development of significantly improved treatment options for chronic infection within the last years, cure is now possible in most cases. Since a hepatitis C vaccine is not available, prevention strategies must target prevention of transmission and harm reduction.

Date: 27.07.2016