Hepatitis C is a liver infection caused by the hepatitis C virus. About 3.9 million people in the U.S. have the disease. But it causes few symptoms, so most of them don't know. Hepatitis C can be either acute or chronic. Unlike hepatitis A and B , there’s no vaccine for hepatitis C, although efforts to create one continue. Hepatitis C is highly contagious, which explains the high number of people with the disease. Symptoms The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that approximately 70 to 80 percent of people with hepatitis C don’t have symptoms. While this is true, some people report mild to severe symptoms. These symptoms include: fever dark urine loss of appetite abdominal pain or discomfort joint pain jaundice The symptoms may not show up right away. Some may take six to seven weeks to appear. Learn more about the symptoms and delayed symptoms of hepatitis C. Causes Hepatitis C is transmitted through blood-to-blood contact with someo...