Natural history and epidemiology of hepatitis C.

The high incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) makes it one of the greatest health threats facing the world today. Hepatitis C is the most common blood-borne infectious disease in the United States, and evidence demonstrates that if the disease is not contained it will continue to spread and the death rate from hepatitis C will rise to a level far greater than that of AIDS. The epidemiological patterns of hepatitis C transmission will be reviewed.