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Hepatitis C is an infectious virus that is carried in--and spread by contact with--blood. It is estimated that four million individuals carry hepatitis C in the United States alone. About sixty percent of all hepatitis C infections originate through intravenous drug use and another fifteen percent acquire the disease through sexual contact. Most individuals who are diagnosed with hepatitis C are unaware they have been infected with the hepatitis C virus, especially in the acute stage of the disease (the first 6 months). Statistically, about twenty to thirty percent of those individuals who have been infected will be virus free at the end of the acute stage. However, the remainder will progress to the chronic stage of the disease. Chronic hepatitis C may lead to cirrhosis of the liver or cancer of the liver. Left untreated, two-thirds of those with hepatitis C will develop cirrhosis. Medications such as interferon are paramount in slowing or curing Hepatitis C for most individuals. Severe chronic hepatitis C infections may result in the need for a liver transplant; in fact, hepatitis C is the major cause for liver transplants. Can you win social security disability or SSI disability benefits on the basis of Hepatitis C? 
Social Security Disability and SSI Disability Information
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