The Silent Virus That’s Still Spreading in 2025
There’s no doubt about it; Hepatitis C doesn’t capture the headlines as much as COVID or monkeypox have. Most people have hepatitis C without knowing it, until the infection causes serious damage to the liver. WHO data indicates that more than 58 million people worldwide currently have chronic hepatitis C infection. The kicker? It’s not common knowledge—largely because people don’t realize how disease is spread. That’s a public health issue we see all around us, but don’t always notice.
Community health workers, ER doctors and patients are some of the people I’ve spoken to. Most of their stories include the same point: people know little about hepatitis C transmission and that leads many to lose their lives. How is the virus spread and what makes it such a problem for young adults today?
Blood, Not Casual Contact: What Actually Spreads Hepatitis C
Unlike some people’s beliefs, hugging, sharing a beverage and using the same toilet will not get you hepatitis C. You can only get this virus by being exposed to blood. That’s its only destination. However, there are much more interactions along the customer journey than you might imagine.
So let’s try to explain it step by step.
- Infection with HCV most often happens when young adults use shared needles or items for drug use.
- Transfusions or transplants performed before 1992 (when screening became general) could be risky.
- Virus transmission has been seen as a result of poorly sterilized tattoo, piercing or manicure equipment.
- These workers sometimes become infected because of accidental needlesticks, as one nurse in Colorado revealed, when she tested positive in her early 60s.
- Very occasionally, but more and more often among MSM, HIV can be passed from one person to another sexually, particularly when there is blood exposure.
CDC data shows that 70% of recent Hepatitis C cases in the U.S. are linked to using drugs injected into the body, a rise that matches the rise in the opioid epidemic. These aren’t just figures removed from real life. They might be living on your street, working in your company or be yourself.
Myths, Shame, and the Price of Misinformation
Dana, who I interviewed and is 28, told me something I cannot forget. She had to get tested only after her friend learned they had cancer. ”I thought it just happened to old folks or addicts,” she said. That stigma causes risk. Since hepatitis C can be treated and cured, when you don’t think you’re at risk, you likely won’t get tested. If you don’t test, then you won’t treat the problem.
Lies and rumors about health make doctors’ jobs difficult as well. A recent study from Johns Hopkins reveals that 32% of doctors thought hepatitis C can be passed if someone shares spoons or kisses. That behaviour isn’t ethical—it’s irresponsible as well.
A Public Health Change Begins with the Youth
It might seem that people who lived before medical screening could easily get hepatitis C. But a CDC review of data reveals a sharp rise in HCV infections among people from 20 to 39 over the last decade. Why? The main one is the opioid crisis. But even so, there is more economic stress, more homelessness occurring and people don’t have clean supplies or knowledge about how to protect themselves.
An HCV clinic in Kentucky found that about 60% of young users showed evidence of the virus. From this one piece of data, we learn this isn’t about bad habits or choices—it’s about systems that need to respond to current needs.
Experts Say: We Need to Test Everyone
When I spoke to Dr. Jamal Ruiz, he highlighted that we have cured hepatitis C. In fact, most people don’t realize they’re living through it. It’s at that point where things get slowed down. He believes that testing should be done for everyone, with opt-out testing available not just for those over 18 but in medical places like ERs, clinics and pharmacies.
The program in New York did exactly that. In those emergency rooms, more adults were found to have HCV in just a few days than had been discovered in the past. That’s how helpful assumption-free screening is.
Final Thought: We Can’t Fix What We Won’t See
That’s the most important part of the story. Hepatitis C has become treatable, but the infection is often found at a point when treatment is less effective. There is a strong science supporting acne, treatments exist and plans for best practice are available. If we don’t understand how hepatitis C is transmitted, we won’t be able to catch it in time.
If someone ever suggests being tested, be sure to listen. Encourage them. And wonder—have you been challenged?
Not knowing can also put us in harm’s way. It’s contagious.