HCV Disease Progression After exposure to the virus, the incubation period usually lasts 2-26 weeks. The initial phase of HCV disease is called acute infection. Acute HCV usually resolves after 2-12 weeks. However, up to 80-85% of people initially infected with HCV do not clear the virus from their bodies, and become chronically infected. Most people with chronic HCV do not have symptoms and lead relatively normal lives. But in 10-25% of people, the disease progresses over the course of 10-40 years. Chronic HCV infection can lead to liver damage, the development of fibrous tissue in the liver (fibrosis), fat deposits in the liver (steatosis), liver scarring (cirrhosis), and liver cancer. In severe cases, a person may require a liver transplant. Cirrhosis is a process in which liver cells are damaged or killed and replaced with scar tissue. Extensive scar tissue formation prevents the flow of blood through the liver, causing more liver cell death and a loss of liver function. Compensated cirrhosis means that the liver is heavily scarred but can still function normally; people with compensated cirrhosis exhibit few or no symptoms. Decompensated cirrhosis means that the liver is extensively scarred and unable to function. People with decompensated cirrhosis often develop complications such as varices (stretched and weakened blood vessels) in the esophagus (swallowing tube) and stomach, internal bleeding, ascites (fluid accumulation), and other potentially life-threatening conditions. They may also experience reversible mental confusion. Liver cancer usually develops at later stages of HCV infection, typically after 25-30 years. The type of liver cancer associated with HCV is called primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).     Permission to reprint this document is granted and encouraged with credit to the Hepatitis C Support Project www.hcvadvocate.org Assembled by  Erin using one of the many auto-scripters available at  Chat_Central_Gateway  All rights reserved KENDOC 2005