Hepatitis C virus is a RNA flavivirus and can cause acute and chronic hepatitis.
Most frequently hepatitis C is transmitted through blood (shared needles), and also tattoo and body piercing.
Relatively rarely hepatitis C is transmitted through sexual contact and vertically, from mother to infant.
Chronic hepatitis C can lead to such serious conditions as cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer.
Alcohol intake in patients with hepatitis C exacerbates liver damage and accelerates its progression to cirrhosis and cancer.