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RI Defeats Hep CHepatitis C
The Silent Epidemic
Hepatitis C is a liver disease resulting from chronic infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). It is estimated that 5 million Americans are infected with HCV. Because symptoms of HCV infection may not appear for many years, more than 70 percent are unaware they are infected.
C is for CURE – HCV is a curable infection. There are many highly effective pills now available that can cure hepatitis C in most people, most of the time – safely.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends an age-based screening strategy consisting of a one-time screening blood test for HCV for those at highest risk, including people who ever injected drugs (even once many years ago), and everyone born between 1945 and 1965 (“Baby Boomers”). Approximately 75% of HCV infections in the U.S. exist among Baby Boomers. One in 30 Baby Boomers in the U.S. has HCV. This CDC recommendation was endorsed by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in June 2013. The broader testing recommendations likely will detect a substantial number of people who are unaware they are infected.
Remember that sharing straws/bills when using cocaine (even once many years ago), and having unprotected anal sex if you are an HIV-infected man who has sex with men, are also risk factors for having HCV. Refer to our selected links for more information on hepatitis C transmission (spread).
Deaths from HCV-related liver disease are on the rise. Early diagnosis allows people who are infected to receive treatment sooner rather than later, and prevent progression to more serious disease, such as cirrhosis (extensive scarring in the liver) and liver cancer.
HEPATITIS C
Lynn E. Taylor, MD
Guest Editor
Hepatitis C Virus Infection: From Margin to Center in Rhode Island and Beyond
LYNN E. TAYLOR, MD, FACP
Commentary – What price for a cure?
LYNN E. TAYLOR, MD