Some people may develop hepatitis C symptoms within two weeks of infection. Others might experience a longer delay before noticing symptoms. It could take from 6 months to 10 years or more before someone with the virus becomes aware of any symptoms.

Can Hep C be dormant for years?

That delay between infection and onset is typical of hepatitis C, which can lie dormant in the body for decades. Her doctor, Douglas Dieterich, MD, a liver specialist at The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai says untreated, the virus will eventually attack and ultimately destroy the liver.

Can you have hep C for years and not know?

When a person has the hepatitis C virus (HCV) for several years, their liver can become inflamed. However, a person can live for years without even knowing that they have HCV. Once the symptoms start to show, the person usually already has liver damage, which can affect treatment and prognosis.

Can Hep C lay dormant for 40 years?

Newsweeks Sarah Kliff looked into hepatitis C, a virus which can be dormant for decades then emerge to cause liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. It affects between 2.7 million and 3.9 million Americans, two-thirds of them baby boomers.

How long does it take for Hep C to show up?

How soon after exposure to the hepatitis C virus can a test tell if someone is infected? After exposure to the hepatitis C virus, it can take 8–11 weeks for an HCV antibody test to be positive. For most people who are infected, the anti-HCV blood test will become positive by 6 months after exposure.