hepatitis C

Definition of hepatitis C

: an acute or chronic hepatitis that is caused by a flavivirus (species Hepatitis C virus of the genus Hepacivirus), is often asymptomatic in its early stages but may be marked by fatigue, fever, nausea, loss of appetite, abdominal tenderness, and muscle and joint pain, and is usually transmitted by infected blood (such as by injection of an illicit drug, blood transfusion, or exposure to blood or blood products)

Note: The acute or short-term stage of hepatitis C typically progresses to a long-term or chronic infection which often leads to liver damage, liver failure, or liver cancer.

Examples of hepatitis C in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The facility will contain information about where people can seek treatment and will also provide people with clean needles to avoid the spread of HIV, hepatitis C, and infections caused by dull needles. — Kimberly Leonard, Washington Examiner, "Trump surgeon general criticizes supervised injection sites as opioid crisis response," 15 Jan. 2020 If the testing detects the presence of hepatitis C virus antibodies, patients will be referred to their primary care doctors or a local health care provider. — USA TODAY, "Operation Santa, missing Jesus, Future the rhino: News from around our 50 states," 12 Dec. 2019 But polls show concern about the prices of breakthrough medications for intractable illnesses like cancer or hepatitis C infection, whose annual costs can run to $100,000 or much more. — Ricardo Alonso-zaldivar, Twin Cities, "US to set up plan allowing prescription meds from Canada," 31 July 2019 Having hepatitis C may very well have saved Jennifer Zeng’s life. — Fox News, "Survivors and victims on shocking state-sanctioned organ harvesting in China," 27 Oct. 2019 At the more than 300 syringe exchanges around the country, drug users can get clean needles and syringes, testing for hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS and wound care and other medical services. — Christine Vestal, USA TODAY, "Philadelphia could become the first US city to host a safe injection site for drug users," 18 Nov. 2019 According to the Michigan Department of Public Health, new diagnoses of hepatitis C among adults younger than 40 years of age increased from 292 in 2000 to 3,774 in 2018. — Georgea Kovanis, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan to offer opioid addiction treatment in prison, increase syringe exchange programs," 14 Nov. 2019 Attendees can take advantage of free services, including glucose testing, blood pressure screening, head and neck cancer screening, body mass index testing, vision checks and hepatitis C testing. — Cody Boteler, baltimoresun.com, "Johns Hopkins Medicine to debut Green Spring Station medical center expansion with free health fair," 20 Sep. 2019 When the treatment ended in December 2009, my blood tests showed no signs of the hepatitis C virus. — Michael Ninburg, STAT, "The U.S. needs extra action to eliminate viral hepatitis, the nation’s deadliest infectious disease," 15 Nov. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hepatitis C.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about hepatitis C

Dictionary Entries near hepatitis C

Statistics for hepatitis C

Last Updated

20 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Hepatitis C.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hepatitis%20C. Accessed 20 January 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for hepatitis C

hepatitis C

noun

\ -ˈsē

Medical Definition of hepatitis C

: an acute or chronic hepatitis that is caused by a flavivirus (species Hepatitis C virus of the genus Hepacivirus), is often asymptomatic in its early stages but may be marked by fatigue, fever, nausea, loss of appetite, abdominal tenderness, and muscle and joint pain, and is usually transmitted by infected blood (as by injection of an illicit drug, blood transfusion, or exposure to blood or blood products)

Note: The acute or short-term stage of hepatitis C typically progresses to a long-term or chronic infection which often leads to liver damage, liver failure, or liver cancer.