Are they associated with each other

[selpam]

I have been diagnosed with Hep C Genotype 1A  in 2008 with stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver.
My Friend was diagnosed with Hep C Genotype 3A in 2004 without any cirrhosis.
We were in the military together in Vietnam. Could we have contracted this from each other.

We were also stationed in Germany after Vietman.

[jmjm530]

I would say no, unless there was a direct link such as IV drug use/sharing needles. In that case there is a remote possibility that both of you were infected with both genotypes and over the years the the other genotype became dominant. Even so that would probably be a stretch. Curious, what make you think you may have contracted it from the other marine?

[Bill1954]

Although they are both Hep C, discordant genotypes are not likely to be related in terms of transmission. The most likely scenario is that each of you was exposed at different times by different people. HCV genotypes are believed to have originated in different parts of the world; for instance, genotype 3 is prevalent in Australia, and parts of south-east Asia; genotype 1 is the most common in western Europe, north America, and Japan.

Some of us have a tendency to have more progressive liver damage than others. For some reason, this occurs seemingly without rhyme or reason. Sometimes lifestyle contributes to progression; it’s believed that heavy alcohol consumption plays a role in rapid liver damage in HCV patients. Other factors might be age, gender and race; none of this is fully understood at this time.

Are you currently undergoing treatment for HCV? How re you managing the disease and cirrhosis?

Good luck—

Bill

[CoWriter]

Not from each other, no.  Because you have3 different genotypes.  But you could have contracted it from the jetguns used to immunize you.

Co