Natalie Cole has Hepatitis C

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Grammy-winning singer Natalie Cole has been diagnosed with Hepatitis C and says she probably contracted the liver disease from drug use more than 30 years ago.

"The virus, found during a routine examination, is likely the result of her drug use many decades ago," her publicist said in a statement released on Wednesday.

Cole, 58, the daughter of legendary singer Nat King Cole, is responding well to treatment but is suffering what doctors called "significant side effects," including fatigue, muscle aches and dehydration.

The singer, whose father died of lung cancer when she was 15, documented her addiction to cocaine, heroin and alcohol in her 2000 autobiography "Angel On My Shoulder." She overcame her addiction after a lengthy stay in rehab in the early 1980s.

"I've been so fortunate to have learned so much from my past experiences," Cole said in the statement.

"I am embraced by the love and support of my family and friends; I am committed to my belief in myself and in my abiding faith to meet this challenge with a heartfelt optimism and determination. This is how I intend to deal with this current challenge in my life," she said.

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne infectious disease that is often without symptoms and can cause inflammation of the liver, and in extreme case, liver cancer. It is usually contracted through transfusions of unscreened blood, or by injecting or inhaling drugs.

Dr. Graham Woolf, associate clinical professor of medicine at UCLA/Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said: "Natalie has had a terrific response to her medication and is now virus negative.