Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a viral infection, which causes inflammation of the liver. It is spread through contact with the blood of an infected person. Sharing injecting needles and equipment (‘works’) with someone who is infected is the most common way to get hepatitis C in Ireland. About 25-30% of people who are infected clear the virus within one year of infection. The remaining 70-75% develop chronic (long-term) infection. This can cause serious liver disease, including cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), liver cancer and liver failure. This liver damage occurs gradually over 20-30 years in people with chronic infection. Hepatitis C became a notifiable disease in Ireland in 2004.
New highly effective treatments for hepatitis C became available in Ireland in late 2014. These result in a cure for over 95% of people who are infected. For more information on treatment please see:
https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/hepatitis-c/
Number of hepatitis C notifications and notification rate per 100,000 population in Ireland, 2004- Q1 2024
Last updated: 18 June 2024
