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Phases

All types of hepatitis, whether it is caused by a viral infection, alcoholic hepatitis or autoimmune hepatitis can cause varying degrees of liver damage.
PHASE 1: INFECTION
  • HCV virus enters the bloodstream, attaches to liver cells and starts to reproduce

  • A new virus, made in infected liver cells, invades more liver cells and infects them.
PHASE 2: INFLAMMATION

  • Infected liver cells become inflamed

  • The inflammation causes liver cells to die.


PHASE 3: FIBROSIS
  • Over time, hepatitis C commonly progresses to fibrosis

  • Strands of scar tissue develop among the healthy and inflamed liver cells

  • If a liver biopsy shows significant fibrosis, it usually means an infection with HCV for 10 years or more.
PHASE 4: CIRRHOSIS
  • When fibrosis increases, cirrhosis begins to appear

  • Cirrhosis affects how blood flows in and out of the liver and this impairs normal liver functions.

* from Knowledge is Power: Take Control of Hepatitis C, a booklet produced by the Canadian Association of Hepatology Nurses and Schering Canada Inc.

 

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