More Americans are being diagnosed with Hepatitis C, and the statistics are
particularly frightening. Hepatitis C is often called the silent epidemic
because so many people have it but don’t yet know it. Each year, anywhere
from 35,000 to 185,000 people are infected with the Hepatitis C virus. Less
than 30 percent of all existing cases have been diagnosed. The stealthy
nature of the virus can keep victims in the dark for years.
The Hepatitis C virus can be transmitted through blood products or other
bodily fluids, and more than 4 million Americans are likely to be infected
with it. However, because symptoms aren’t always apparent, many people don’t
even know it’s living within their bodies.
Approximately 80 to 85 percent of people who come in contact with Hepatitis
C will be unable to clear it from their body and will become long-term
carriers of the virus. What that means is over the course of anywhere
between 10 and 30 years, that virus will grow within their body and will
replicate to the point of eventually causing some long-term health problems
for those patients, said Dr. Brian Murphy of St. Vincent’s Hospital.
Problems associated with Hepatitis C include liver inflammation, fibrosis or
liver scarring, cirrhosis and ultimately liver cancer. Experts believe that
one of the major reasons why the virus is reaching epidemic proportions now
is because of the lack of testing available several years ago, when many
patients were likely infected.
In 1992, an effective test was developed, but in many less industrialized
parts of the world, they still did not have access to this technology. Many
liver specialists explain that this upward trend in Hepatitis C cases isn’t
necessarily a sign of rampant transmission but of more effective testing.
According to Dr. Norbert Brau, an infectious disease specialist at Mount
Sinai Hospital, It’s kind of like if you do a good job with breast cancer
screening, you will detect a lot of new cases and this is what’s happening
here.
Public health advocates around the world are lobbying for everyone to
receive at least a baseline test. Early detection and treatment with drugs
such as Interferon and Ribavarin give patients the greatest chance of
remaining free of complications.
Treatment typically lasts for one year and with that treatment, you can
actually cure the virus in about 35 to 38 percent of the cases, said Dr.
Brau.
Screening for Hepatitis C begins with a routine blood test. Those at the
most risk include intravenous drug users, people who engage in unsafe sex
and recipients of blood transfusions before 1992. People in these groups
should definitely be tested.
For more information about Hepatitis and other liver diseases, contact the
American Liver Foundation at 1-800-GO-LIVER. In Canada contact Canadian
Liver Foundation at (416) 964-1953.
