Hepatitis C is described as chronic when the infection lasts longer than six months. The liver remains inflamed and, over time, the inflammation damages the liver cells. The damage may be serious for some people but for others it causes no problems. Unfortunately, the degree of liver injury bears little relationship to the severity of the symptoms. In most cases, the infection will not be apparent for a long time. Doctors cannot predict who will or will not go on to develop serious disease.