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Hepatitis C

People infected with hepatitis C virus often show no symptoms initially, but long term effects can include liver damage (cirrhosis and liver cancer). The virus is transmitted mainly through contact with the blood of an infected person, and drug users who share injecting equipment are at particular risk. Babies can also be infected by their mothers during birth. No vaccine exists to prevent hepatitis C infection, but treatments are available that are effective in over 50% of cases.