As with HBV, those infected with HCV can be asymptomatic, have an acute illness, or present with chronic infection.
According to the CDC, 15% to 25% of those infected with HCV clear the virus without treatment. It is possible therefore to have seropositive patients who have no virus (i.e. they resolved their HCV infection and are now aviremic but seropositive). Around 20-30% of those newly infected with HCV will develop an acute illness. This can occur from 2 to 26 weeks of infection. In addition, 75-85% of those infected will develop chronic HCV. This is a higher rate of chronic infection than seen with HBV.
With HCV, the patient can undergo severe stages of the disease. The CDC states that 10-20% of those infected with HCV will go on to develop cirrhosis of the liver. Those developing cirrhosis have an annual risk of hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatic decompensation. About 1/5 of patients with hepatic decompensation will die as a result.
