Module 10: Understanding Hepatitis C
Completion requirements
Module 10: Understanding Hepatitis C
Module 10: Understanding Hepatitis C, Screen 3 of 11What Is Hepatitis?
In this module, we’ll go over the basics of hepatitis C: what it is, how it’s transmitted, how the disease can develop, and how people who have hepatitis C can take care of their health.
Let’s start with the definition of hepatitis:
“hepa” = liver
“itis” = inflammation
Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver caused by a virus. That’s what the “V” at the end of “HCV” means, just like at the end of “HIV.”HCV is one of several kinds of hepatitis. Two of the most common other kinds of hepatitis are hepatitis A (HAV) and hepatitis B (HBV). Hepatitis A can make a person sick, but then the person’s body usually clears the infection on its own. Hepatitis B, like hepatitis C, can stay in the bodies of some people and lead to chronic illness. There are vaccines to prevent hepatitis A and hepatitis B, but not hepatitis C.
Image from: Texas Woman’s University