Actually, after seven years of treatment, 99 percent of nearly 1,000 medically treated patients have been found to be free of the hepatitis C virus.
However, there is still a genetic type of the virus that has not yet been responsive to the curable genotype form of the virus. This still leaves approximately another 50 percent of those infected without a cure so far. The hepatitis C viral infection is the leading cause of liver cancer, cirrhosis and liver transplants in the U.S.
There are approximately 4 million people in the U.S. who are currently infected with this virus, and only about one fourth of these individuals even know they have it, according to a hepatitis treatment expert's report to WebMD.
Many times people who are infected with the hepatitis C virus do not have any symptoms or end up going to the doctor due to nonspecific symptoms, such as fatigue.
Other patients found out they were infected with the hepatitis C virus when it was discovered by the lab results of routine bloodwork.
There are even some patients who have chronic hepatitis C, yet their bloodwork does not reveal the virus because of normal lab results of liver enzymes. As a result, it is important to be specifically screened for hepatitis C.
The virus is acquired from blood-to-blood contact through by the following common risk factors: injection or intranasal drug use; blood transfusion or organ transplantation before 1992; kidney dialysis; needlestick; tattoos, body piercing or acupuncture; high-risk sexual activity (multiple partners) or sexual intercourse without a condom and maternal to fetal transmission.
The sooner the anti-viral medicine is administered, based on early diagnosis, the better chance that the virus can be cured, but genotype factoring may affect the chance for cure as well.
Doctors encourage patients to be tested no matter what the situation. Doctors also urge patients who are aware of their infection (even at late stages, such as after liver damage), to get medical (anti-viral) treatment, because it is never too late, and new trials are underway for further medical advances.
