Hepatitis C is a disease of the liver. It is caused by a virus called the hepatitis C virus, or HCV. Many people with hepatitis C have no symptoms and lead normal lives. In majority of people, the body does not clear HCV completely and the disease becomes chronic.

The hepatitis C virus is spread primarily through blood-to-blood contact, in particular by sharing HCV-infected needles to inject drugs, as well as from unsafe medical procedures. Sexual and mother-to-child transmissions are uncommon. Several tests are used to diagnosis HCV and gauge its progression, including antibody tests, viral load tests, and genotype tests, liver function tests, and liver biopsies.

1-2 % of Indian population suffers from Hepatitis C -About 20 milllion infected. There is currently no vaccine for HCV. There are, however, various treatments that can reduce or stop viral replication and disease progression. Current standard therapy is pegylated interferon plus ribavirin.

There are six major genotypes of HCV, which are distributed differently in different parts of the world. Genotypes 1a and 1b are the most difficult to treat..