(BPT) - An estimated 3.2 million Americans have chronic hepatitis C, a potentially serious disease that, if left untreated, can damage the liver over time and lead to cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver, end-stage liver disease and liver cancer. Liver failure from chronic hepatitis C is the leading cause of liver transplants in the United States.
Many people infected with chronic hep C virus do not know they have it. Approximately 70 to 80 percent of those newly infected with the virus do not have symptoms. In many people with chronic hepatitis C, signs or symptoms may not appear for years.
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