Your reference for hepatitis C in Quebec
What is hepatitis? The term “hepatitis” means an inflammation of the liver. This inflammation may have viral (caused by a virus) or non-viral origins.
Non-viral hepatitis is an often acute inflammation of the liver. It can be caused by exposure to medications, drugs, toxic substances, or an autoimmune disease.
Other possible causes include contaminated food or water, certain fungi, and chemical products such as metals, solvents, or pesticides. Nonviral hepatitis can lead to liver failure.
Viral hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver caused by a virus. There are five viruses known to cause hepatitis, each one identified by a letter: A, B, C, D, and E. They were named in the order of their discovery. It is important to note that other viruses, such as herpes, can also lead to hepatitis.2 The hepatitis viruses are each distinct in their modes of transmission, their risk of becoming chronic conditions, and the medications employed in preventing or treating them.
Viral hepatitis may be acute or chronic.
The liver is a vital organ. It weighs around 1.4 kilograms and is situated in the upper right-hand portion of the abdomen. Its many roles include filtering what enters the body, eliminating toxins, and storing nutrients. The liver is attached to the gallbladder, which breaks down fats and collaborates with the spleen to clean the bloodstream.
The liver functions 24 hours a day and serves more than 500 vital functions in the body such as:
- Cleaning blood: the liver metabolizes alcohol and other drugs and chemical products, neutralizing et destroying toxic substances;
- Regulating the body’s energy intake: the liver produces, stores and provides rapid energy (glucose) and produces, stores and distributes fats;
- Creating essential proteins for transporting substances in the bloodstream, for blood coagulation and for infection resistance;
- Regulating hormones, including sexual hormones and thyroid hormones, cortisone and other adrenal hormones;
- Regulation cholesterol: the liver produces and excretes cholesterol and also transforms cholesterol into other substances essential for the body;
- Regulating vitamins and essential minerals, including iron and copper.
- Producing bile, which eliminates toxic substances from the body and facilitates digestion.3
The liver possesses the ability to regenerate itself. It is for this reason that the illness caused by hepatitis C progresses slowly.
In the 1970s, people began reporting cases of hepatitis that were associated with blood transfusions. The majority of these infections became chronic, despite being caused neither by the hepatitis A (HAV) or hepatitis B (HBV) viruses, nor any other source. This phenomenon was named hepatitis non-A, non-B (HNANB); it would be years before hepatitis C (HCV) was identified.
In 1989, Doctors Houghton, Choo, Weiner, Kuo, Overby and Granby discovered HCV. Following this discovery, a test was developed for detecting HCV antibodies. Blood testing greatly helped in preventing iatrogenic transmission. Later, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing technology made it possible to identify the virus’ RNA in its early stages (during the first acute phase of hepatitis C).
Strains of HCV are classed by six genotypes and numerous subtypes. In Canada, the genotype 1a is the most common.
In 2020, the Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to biochemist Michael Houghton and virologists Harvey J. Alter and Charles M. Rice for their discovery of the hepatitis C virus and other associated work.4