Hepatitis C, a relatively new disease, that is not as well known as diseases like Hepatitis A or B. However, this disease is very serious. Hepatitis C is an infection of the liver. Hepatitis C has not yet infected many people, but the infected individuals will carry the disease for life. Hepatitis C is a very mysterious disease and is well knows as " The Silent Epidemic."
             The history of the Hepatitis C virus is very short. The virus was first identified in 1989. The test to identify individuals infected with hepatitis C was developed in 1990. The number of new infections per year has declined from an average of 240,000 in the 1980's to about 25,000 in 2001.
             There are many various ways to contract the HCV virus and to pass it on to others. Hepatitis C is believed to be transmitted only by blood. All sources of blood or blood products are capable of carrying the virus, even if the source is indirect. Many of the ways of contracting the virus would seem quite harmless, such as body piercing and tattooing. Blood transplants are also considered a high-risk factor. The most significant risk behavior for HCV infection is drug use, particularly I.V. drug use. Drug use is responsible for about 30 percent to about 40 percent of all identified cases of hepatitis C. Cocaine users have also been shown to transmit this virus y sharing shorting straws. Many people believe that Hepatitis C is a sexually transmitted disease. Heterosexual or homosexual activity with multiple partners as been identified as a mode of transmission, but the risk of infection is considered very low. Maternal-infant transmission has also been documented as a mode of spreading the virus. Certain specialized risks have also been identified, suck as manicures, shared toothbrushes, and shared razors.
             There are many symptoms for the HCV virus, but are practically invisible until the disease is considered chronic. Many symptoms include co
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