How can you date the time of infection?

[murariji]

When someone says they have been infected for 20+ years, is that a guess based on the likelihood of being infected by something that happened in the past, (transfusion; sharing needles, toothbrushes etc) or is there a test that determines how long you have been infected?

Still trying to understand something of how Hep C acts

I am curious why so many people are in their 40s and 50s when they discover they are infected, and they have had the disease for years and years before that, with no obvious signs of it.
Does the disease take a long time to cause actual damage, or does it develop more rapidly when a persons general health is low or in decline?

Or maybe both.

There are over a dozen different geno types, anyone know in simple English what makes for the differences, and why treatment varies?

[shookie]

I was diagnosed in 2005 with HCV, everyone was confused as to how I got it especially because mine is a genotype 4e. That is very rare here in the US. Mainly found in the Middle East. I am 47 years old now and I have Cirrhosis with Hepatic Encephalopathy and Portal Hypertension. I never used any drugs or had any tattoo's or blood transfusions. So you can understand why everyone wondered how I contracted it. It was my secret for as long as the disease has been in my blood, but I know exactly where it came from and when. I was a child age 7-11 with a very sick step father that was from Iran ( The Middle East) so it is contracted other ways besides tattoos, blood transfusions, IV drugs. It is a very ugly disease and no one, no matter what you have done in your past should have to pay any piper for it. I do wish you all well and prey you dont have to suffer as I have done. My problem is finding a doctor that will explain anything to me. A doctor that gives a damn. A doctor who knows what he or she is even doing. I suffer in pain almost 24/7 but I cant tell the doctor that or they will treat me differently and think I'm a pill seeker, even though I refuse to even take an over the counter pain medication. I am now trying to find out what to do about a blood test result that showed my Alpha Fetal Protein high. I am studying about it and it appears to be a tumor marker for liver cancer. The doctor told me not to worry about it and it is just high because I have HCV. Like I said, It's hard for me to find a doctor to help me with these kinds of questions. This is my first time in this discussion so I figured that I would come in completely naked so you dont think I am any different then you all.

[murariji]

"such a mysterious virus all the way around."

Ain't THAT the truth.

Stay blessed, and have a great Christmas finally without your house guest.

[meakea]

The debate about route of infection is always spirited around here.  It's usually another unknown variable of Hep C; such a mysterious virus all the way around.

After my diagnosis in 2008, the "how did I get HCV" haunted me enough that I decided to trace my medical records for clues.  The only risk factor I had was a blood transfusion when I was 2 days old in December 1954.  In April 2008, I was stage 1/grade 1 and it seemed odd that I could have had HCV for those 53 years with so little damage so my mission began to try to put pieces of the puzzle together.

I ordered all of my medical records as far back as I could find them and I had nearly 100% success back to the early 70's, at which time I would have been 16 or so years old.  Luckily I had had yearly physicals each and every year during my life so my records tracked pretty easily.  What I found was that my LFTs were elevated ever since the early 70's and my WBCs were low all that time but my doctors never mentioned it to me.  Finding elevated LFTs and low WBCs in my medical records from when I was 16 years old pretty much tells me I had already been walking around with HCV for a good number of years and that makes me pretty darn sure that the blood transfusion was the culprit.  I lead an extremely clean life; not much of any alcohol, no drugs, lots of exercise, healthy eating and maybe that explains part of the reason I got by with minimal liver damage after 53 years of infection mixed in with a whole lot of luck.  My true luck, however, rose to the surface when I reached SVR after 48 weeks of treatment...I am blessed.

[ClippedWings]

Thanks.  To you as well.  Hopefully your journey with HCV ends in SVR and a long life.
Bill

[willbb]

All the best to you ...

WILL

[ClippedWings]

Concur.  Method of infection is completely inconsequential.  Not a one of us, regardless of our infection pathway was looking to have this virus.