Читать книгу Basic Virology - Martinez J. Hewlett - Страница 82

Hepatitis C virus is a member of the Flaviviridae, as are several other important human pathogens including dengue virus, Zika virus, and West Nile virus. The virus is transmitted by contaminated blood and blood products, and it is thought to cause as much as 25% of acute viral hepatitis worldwide. There is no current evidence of its being efficiently spread by arthropod vectors, but this possibility cannot be ruled out. Unlike those infected with HAV, a significant proportion of victims do not mount an effective immune response to the infection and have chronic infection that can last for many years with resulting accumulated liver damage and carcinoma. New anti–hepatitis C virus medicines introduced since 2011 have greatly improved the prognosis for infected people, but no vaccine currently exists.