Sketchy Micro: (Flavi) Hepatitis C Flashcards
Give a rundown on HCV.
- Enveloped (robed guide)
- Positive-sense ssRNA (orange tones with the sun in the background)
- Part of the Flaviviruses (like the orange drink)
- Nonsegmented (like the single straw)
The most common method of transmission is ______________.
exposure to infected blood (like the hippo with the C tag wading through red water); blood transfusions were not adequately tested prior to 1990, so a question stem may tell you a patient received a blood transfusion in the 1970s
(Also, think of the needle in the hippo’s other ear to remember IV drug users.)
Why is vaccination to HCV not possible?
The RNA polymerase that HCV encodes has no proofreading capability in the 3’ to 5’ direction, so it produces lots of antigenic variation in the envelope glycoproteins.
(Think of the multicolored tent to recall antigenic variation and the misspelled sign – symbolizing lack of proofreading –with “No viewing from 3 to 5” written beneath it.)
Describe the important difference in HCV and HBV in terms of likelihood of chronic disease.
The majority of HCV cases will produce an acute and then a chronic disease (like the sign that says “CAUTION: 60% - 80% chronically infected hippos”), while most HBV infections do not progress to chronic disease.
What are two potential complications of chronic HCV?
Cirrhosis and HCC (like the dried out liver coral and the crab next to it)
HCV can produce what serum sign?
Cryoglobulins (like the precipitated salt crystals that look like IgM on the beach)
What two treatments used to be the mainstay of treatment for HCV?
- Ribavirin (like the ribs of the whale on the beach)
* Interferon alpha (like the explorer’s walkie talkie with the alpha-shaped twist in its antenna)
What new treatment can be offered for those with HCV?
Sofosbuvir, which is a protease inhibitor (like the explorer who can’t get his knife out of the tree)
