OVERVIEW

Hepatitis C: Prevention, Assessment & Treatment is organized by RnCeus Interactive.

Expiration Date: Feb 28, 2021

Accreditation:
Contact hours - Learners who successfully complete all requirements are eligible to procure a 3.00 contact hour certificate of completion

Description:
Hepatitis C is a ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus in the Flaviviridae family. RNA based viruses, like HCV, store their genetic code within ribonucleic acid, rather than DNA. HCV's RNA is protected within a lipid coat that allows it to fuse to the host cell's outer membrane and merge with it. The virus's lipid coat essentially becomes part of the host cell membrane, depositing the virus RNA inside. Once inside, the virus takes over the host cell and begins to create viral components. The newly created viral components attach to the inside of the host membrane. When the components attach, they deform the membrane causing it to bulge out, creating a bud. The bud pinches off from the host and a new virus is released. This process continues over and over again until the cell is exhausted and dies. Once outside the host cell, the new virus contacts a new host and begins replication, each time creating many, many new viruses.

RNA viruses, like HCV, HIV and Influenza A, are notorious for their ability to mutate and confound vaccines and treatments. HCV's RNA amino acids differs from DNA by only one base. It is composed of adenine, guanine, cytosine and uracil, rather than thymine. It is also a single strand rather than a double. Being a single strand means that it's elements don't have to match up with a complimentary base on an opposing strand, as does DNA. One base can often be substituted for another without inactivating the virus. A substitution usually results in a protein of a slightly different shape. It is the change in shape that confounds vaccines and drugs by moving the position of binding sites.

Researchers have found that half of the virus's mutations are in sites that our immune system attacks. As the virus mutates, it changes the location of the binding site that our immune system can recognize. It can then change back to the “ancestral” set of amino acids. That is, when the virus is under attack, it changes, and then when it's safe, it changes back. Thus, if the virus moves from one host to another, it may lose the mutations that it needed to escape the immune system of the first host, if they aren't needed in the second host. Researchers have found that the mutations are not random, as had been earlier assumed, and the viruses in different people infected by the same ancestral virus have similar genetic elements and mutations. This new information could make it easier to target a vaccine in the future.

Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, the health professional should be able to:
• Describe hepatitis C (HCV) and the mode of transmission.
• Discuss the history of HCV.
• Discuss the infectious process and genotypes.
• List and describe 6 to 9 risk factors for HCV.
• List 4 different types of HCV assessment tests and applications.
• List and describe 5 to 8 primary symptoms/complications of HCV.
• List and describe 3 types of treatment for HCV.
• List and describe 5 to 7 prevention methods