DW is a 46 year old white female who donated blood last year and received a letter from the Red Cross stating that she had hepatitis C. Her previous blood donation was before 1990. She does not drink and has never used any IV drugs, never had any blood transfusions, body piercing or tattoos. She has been working as a dental assistant since 1979 before Universal Precautions were enforced but never had any needle sticks. During her training she had worked on a large number of patients who were in jail. She recalls helping the dentist without wearing gloves and frequently putting her fingers inside the patient's mouth to retract their cheeks and therefore often had blood under her fingernails. She is in an extended monogamous relationship and her husband tested negative for hepatitis C. She is presently receiving combination treatment for hepatitis C and is responding well without any side effects. 

KK is a 45 year old essentially healthy white female. During a routine physical with her doctor she reported  moderate use of alcohol and was found to have abnormal liver tests. She initially denied any history of blood transfusions or experimenting with drugs. She has a new sex partner since the last 4 months and does not use any protection. She was found to have hepatitis C and on later questioning accepts experimenting with IV drugs a few times about 15 years ago. She is worried about her 5 year old son being at risk but luckily on testing he was found to be free of hepatitis. She needs to stop drinking and is scheduled for a liver biopsy.

PK and CK are a black couple in their forties. The wife, a daycare worker, has hypertension and iron deficiency anemia. She has no symptoms. The husband has a history of a rare fibrodysplastic bone disease for which he had numerous surgeries during his childhood. During those surgeries he received several blood transfusions. During a recent work up, he was found to have a liver mass. He denies ever using IV drugs or having multiple sex partners.

GF is a 45 year old Hispanic male with a history of hypertension. During routine screening he was found to have abnormal liver function tests and later work up revealed hepatitis C. He has no signs or symptoms of hepatitis. He has been married for more than 20 years, and quit drinking alcohol almost 10 years ago. His only risk factor is using IV drugs one time as a teenager.

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