hepatitis C

noun

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 An Alabama Medicaid policy that requires hepatitis C patients to avoid drugs and alcohol for six months or lose access to lifesaving medication violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to a federal administrative complaint. — al, 11 May 2022 The most common types of viral hepatitis in the U.S. are hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, which is the leading cause of liver cancer and liver transplants in the U.S., according to the CDC. — Claire Thornton, USA TODAY, 6 May 2022 Gilead makes remdesivir, an antiviral developed to treat hepatitis C that was also tested for use against infectious diseases. — Catherine Garcia, The Week, 11 Aug. 2021 Illinois successfully accomplished this when buying drugs that treat hepatitis C for the state’s Medicaid patients, and its success is a lesson for other states. — Ike Brannon, Forbes, 25 May 2021 Four drugs used to treat hepatitis C given in combination with remdesivir, a drug used to treat COVID-19, boosted the efficacy of remdesivir alone as much as 10-fold, according to a study published in Cell Reports. — Julie Washington, cleveland, 29 Apr. 2021 Within a decade, Gilead released another medication that transformed the lives of millions, this time curing hepatitis C in many cases. — Austen Hufford, WSJ, 3 Apr. 2021 Rice, while a researcher at Washington University in St. Louis, then worked to answer an essential question: Could this clone alone cause hepatitis C? — Elizabeth Cooney, STAT, 5 Oct. 2020 Alter described the journey to identifying hepatitis C as a decades-long effort. — David Keyton, Anchorage Daily News, 5 Oct. 2020 See More

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.

Learn More About hepatitis C

Dictionary Entries Near hepatitis C

hepatitis B

hepatitis C

hepatitis D

Statistics for hepatitis C

Last Updated

26 May 2022

Cite this Entry

“Hepatitis C.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hepatitis%20C. Accessed 7 Jul. 2022.

Style: MLA

MLA

Chicago

APA

Merriam-Webster Check Mark Icon

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.