I. What is hepatitis C? Hepatitis C is caused by infection with the hepatitis C virus. Viral hepatitis is currently found to be divided into five types, namely types A, B, C, D and E. Hepatitis C is an infectious disease officially named in September 1989. The global infection rate of hepatitis C is about 3%, and the rate of hepatitis C infection in our general population is 3.2%. Unlike hepatitis B, which can be prevented by a vaccine, there is no effective vaccine for hepatitis C. What are the transmission routes of hepatitis C? Like hepatitis B, hepatitis C is also a blood-borne disease. When it comes to blood transmission, many people think of blood transfusions, but in fact, besides blood transfusions, there are many other ways that can cause skin and mucous membrane damage that are also blood-borne. Such as intravenous drug use, tattoos, sharing razors, sharing pedicure utensils when pedicure, etc. What is the natural prognosis for hepatitis C? Hepatitis C is more likely to become chronic than hepatitis B. About 50%-85% of acute hepatitis C becomes chronic, and once chronicity occurs, it often lasts for life. After 8 to 10 years of chronic hepatitis C, about 20% to 30% of patients turn into cirrhosis and 15% develop liver cancer. Therefore, early treatment of hepatitis C is necessary to reduce the possibility of developing into cirrhosis and liver cancer by inhibiting the replication of the virus. How to analyze the laboratory tests for hepatitis C? Routine tests for hepatitis C include hepatitis C antibody (anti-HCV), hepatitis C RNA (HCV RNA), liver function and ultrasound. Anti-HCV is the most common screening test, but a positive anti-HCV only indicates a previous hepatitis C infection. If the test is positive for anti-HCV but negative for HCV RNA, it indicates a previous infection with hepatitis C virus, but the virus has been cleared; if the test is positive for both anti-HCV and HCV RNA, it indicates a current hepatitis C infection with active viral replication and requires antiviral treatment. The level of liver function transaminases can understand the inflammatory activity of liver tissue, and ultrasound can understand the presence of fatty liver, cirrhosis and other comorbidities. V. How is hepatitis C treated? Like hepatitis B, antiviral therapy is the main treatment for hepatitis C. However, there are some differences: 1, antiviral indications, hepatitis B patients with positive HBV DNA and elevated ALT need to receive treatment; while hepatitis C patients with positive HCV-RNA need to receive antiviral therapy regardless of whether the ALT is elevated. In terms of treatment options, the antiviral treatment for hepatitis B can be either interferon or nucleoside analogues, while the only recognized option for antiviral treatment for hepatitis C is interferon combined with ribavirin for 6-12 months, depending on the genotype of the virus. 3, efficacy, hepatitis B patients interferon treatment is effective in about 35% of patients; while hepatitis C through interferon combined with ribavirin treatment, can make about 60% of patients HCV RNA turned negative, to achieve clinical cure.