Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a disease that results in inflammation of and damage to your liver. Hepatitis can cause higher blood pressure, and, in the long term, leads to scarring of the liver, also known as cirrhosis. It is most often this liver damage, or liver damage in association with other liver conditions, that makes hepatitis C a killer. However, it is not uncommon for people who have contracted the disorder to be totally unaware that they have it for years, as there are few signs or symptoms other than liver swelling, which is difficult to detect.
Chronic and Acute
Hepatitis C can occur in two forms: acute and chronic. Acute hepatitis refers to a person who has the disease for one to two months, and then her immune system destroys the condition like any other viral infection. In this case, there is a very small amount of liver damage, and little activity at all in the immune system, the main source of information on which diseases are present.
Chronic hepatitis, on the other hand, is a long-term condition, often lasting for the rest of a person's life. It can be progressive, which results in heavy damage to the liver; or nonprogressive, which will do little overall damage. Acute hepatitis can become chronic hepatitis, but it doesn't always.
Testing
Tests target people suspected of having hepatitis, or who may have been exposed to it, such as those being tested for STDs, intravenous drug users, and people who display liver problems, among others. A test can detect hepatitis C as soon as your immune system begins creating antibodies. However, because patients rarely display any symptoms, this condition isn't found in even a fraction of the people who have it.
Generally speaking, it takes anywhere from a week to several months for your body to produce the antibodies. Assuming that your body begins producing hepatitis C antibodies within a week of infection, and you take a blood test, the earliest the disease will be detected is an average of three weeks, including the time taken for the test.
Another method, though more extreme, is to take a small fraction of the patient's liver, called a liver biopsy. The liver--the main area affected by hepatitis C--is more reliable than a blood sample, but the testing time is longer. Including surgery, scheduling and testing, the results may take anywhere from three weeks to more than a month.
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