Hepatitis C virus

Hepatitis C virus
Electron micrograph of Hepatitis C virus purified from cell culture. Scale bar = 50 nanometres
Virus classification
(unranked): Virus
Realm: Riboviria
Kingdom: Orthornavirae
Phylum: Kitrinoviricota
Class: Flasuviricetes
Order: Amarillovirales
Family: Flaviviridae
Genus: Hepacivirus
Species:
Hepacivirus hominis
Synonyms
  • Hepatitis C virus
    HCV
    human hepatitis C virus
  • Hepacivirus C

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a small (55–65 nm in size), enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae. The hepatitis C virus is the cause of hepatitis C and some cancers such as liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma, abbreviated HCC) and lymphomas in humans.