List of people with hepatitis C
Name Lifetime Comments
Dharmachari Aryadaka 1948-2003 First Buddhist chaplain in Washington state prisons
Laurie Bembenek 1958-2010 Ex- Milwaukee police officer accused of killing her husband 's ex-wife . She died of liver and kidney failure and hepatitis C
Evel Knievel 1938-2007 Stuntperson best known for his public displays of long distance , high-altitude motorcycle jumping . He underwent a liver transplant in 1999 after nearly dying of hepatitis C , which he believed he had contracted from a blood transfusion after one of his many violent crashes
Lance Loud 1951-2001 Best known for his role in An American Family , a 12-part 1973 PBS documentary . Died of liver failure caused by a hepatitis C and HIV co-infection
James Earl Ray 1928-1998 Confessed assassin of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Died of liver disease due to hepatitis C
Chopper Read 1954-2013 Australian criminal and author , who claimed to have contracted hepatitis C from his time in prison . He refused a liver transplant because he said he did not deserve it
Miscellaneous
Daredevil Evel Knievel , c. 1979
The infectious disease hepatitis C is caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV), which affects the liver. During the initial infection, people often have mild or no symptoms, and there is typically no symptoms early during chronic infection. This condition can progress to scarring of the liver (fibrosis), and advanced scarring (cirrhosis). Over many years however, it often leads to liver disease and occasionally cirrhosis. In some cases, those with cirrhosis will develop complications such as liver failure, liver cancer, or dilated blood vessels in the esophagus and stomach. Although HCV was not discovered until April 1989, an estimated 170 million people worldwide are infected by hepatitis C. As of April 2014, 130 - 150 million globally suffer from chronic hepatitis C infection; a significant number develop cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer. Each year, 350,000 to 500,000 people die from hepatitis C-related liver diseases. No vaccine is available at this time. The symptoms of infection can be medically managed when the disease is diagnosed early, and a proportion of patients can be cleared of the virus by a course of anti-viral medicines. Globally, an estimated 50-95% of people treated are cured. With more recently developed medications cure rates are around 80 to 95%. The symptoms of HCV infection, especially in its early stages, can be mild enough to conceal the fact of the disease; thus, some people do not seek treatment.