Hepatitis C is “Booming” in the USA – Have YOU Been Tested?

The following story was submitted by Donna Sciacca, community outreach and education manager for the American Liver Foundation’s Connecticut Division. She educates over 4,000 Connecticut residents each year about risk factors, prevention strategies and treatment options for liver disease. Sciacca has worked in the nonprofit health sector for over 20 years.

Did you know that Baby Boomers (people born between 1945 and 1965) are among the largest group of Americans discovering that they have Hepatitis C, a serious liver disease, usually decades after they were infected?

The Centers for Disease Control recommends that all Baby Boomers be tested for Hepatitis C. Connecticut passed a law in 2014 (Public Act 14-203) requiring doctors to offer all Baby Boomers a Hepatitis C blood test. You are strongly encouraged to request a Hepatitis C blood test if you were born between 1945 and 1965 and your doctor has not asked if you want to be tested.

Hepatitis C is a contagious, blood-borne virus that becomes chronic in 85 percent of people infected. That means that most people’s immune systems cannot fight the virus, and medication is needed to treat the disease. For every 10 people with chronic Hepatitis C, six to seven of them will develop chronic liver disease. An estimated 3.9 million Americans are infected with Hepatitis C and many more may be infected but unaware because most people with the disease do not feel ill for years – sometimes decades.

The World Health Organization states, “Hepatitis C infection is one of the main causes of cirrhosis (scarring of the liver)…Hepatitis C-related end stage liver disease is the leading reason for liver transplantation in the USA.” Each year, approximately 15,000 Americans die of liver cancer or chronic liver disease associated with viral hepatitis. There are currently over 14,000 Americans on the National Waiting List for liver transplants.

The majority of people with Hepatitis C can now be cured due to the development of new, highly effective medications. These medications are in pill form, are generally taken for three to six months, and do not cause difficult side effects for most people.

People may have contracted Hepatitis C in numerous ways, including:

• Sharing needles or other paraphernalia for intravenous drug use – even one time
• Sharing straws or other items to snort drugs, even one time
• Having had a blood transfusion before 1992, (there was no Hepatitis C screening test for donated blood before 1992)
• Having shared razors, clippers, toothbrushes or other hygiene items that may have trace blood on them (Hepatitis C virus can be infectious for several days on these items)
• Long-term hemodialysis (treatment for kidney disease) when equipment may not have been adequately sterilized
• Being in a healthcare profession where there is a chance of needle stick injuries, or being an emergency responder who may be exposed to infected blood
• Having tattoos or piercings from artists who reuse needles or leftover ink

Talk to your doctor today about having a Hepatitis C blood test. This one simple test could help save your life.
For more information about Hepatitis C or any liver disease, visit http://www.liverfoundation.org/ or call 1-800-GO LIVER to reach the HelpLine of the American Liver Foundation.