They're enough to make you sick

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They're enough to make you sick

What are the area’s top reportable illnesses?

September 3, 2011

By Hoholik , Daily Press

ESCANABA - Three illnesses continue to top the list of most prevalent among

area health departments, and two of them are probably unexpected. According to

recent Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) surveillance reports, the

area's most common reportable illnesses are now: influenza, hepatitis C and

chlamydia.The National Institute of health defines reportable diseases as those

illnesses that could potentially influence public health. Once an illness is

classified as reportable, local, state, and national agencies, such as health

departments, gather statistics in order to track any outbreaks or trends.The

MDCH surveillance reports are released weekly and include local health

departments, such as the Luce, Mackinac, Alger and Schoolcraft County Health

Department and Public Health, Delta and Menominee Counties.According to Jennie

, communicable disease coordinator at PHDM, chlamydia, influenza and

hepatitis C have been the most commonly reported communicable diseases for the

past five years. " We have not studied specifically why we see an increased number

of cases of these infections locally, " explained. " I think it is fair to

say that we see more of these cases locally because they are more common

nationally; both are easily spread when individuals engage in high-risk

behaviors. " As of mid-August, the MDCH reported that in Luce, Mackinac, Alger and

Schoolcraft counties, year-to-date cases include: 23 cases of chlamydia and 22

cases of chronic hepatitis C. In Delta and Menominee counties year-to-date cases

include: 61 cases of chlamydia and 28 cases of chronic hepatitis C.Chlamydia is

one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the U.S., said -

and the U.P. is no exception. " Chlamydia is known as a 'silent' disease because

the majority of infected people have no symptoms, " she explained. " Most people

with chlamydia are not aware of their infections due to lack of symptoms and do

not seek testing. " Because of this lack of testing, the illness is easily spread,

said, and can lead to irreversible damage to a woman's reproductive

organs, including infertility, before a problem is ever recognized.As damaging

as it is, chlamydia is easily treatable with antibiotics, she pointed out, and

testing and treating all sex partners can prevent its spread - including to

infants during childbirth. " Women and men with chlamydia should be retested about

three months after treatment of an initial infection, regardless of whether they

believe that their sex partners were treated, " explained . " The surest way

to avoid transmission of STDs is to abstain from sexual contact, or to be in a

long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested

and is known to be uninfected. " Hepatitis C, a contagious liver disease, has also

continually topped local health department's lists of reportable illnesses.

Those at risk for contracting the disease, according to , include: current

or past injection drug use, being a recipient of donated blood and organs (now

rare in the U.S., due to updated blood screening techniques since 1992), having

received tattoos or body piercings done with non-sterile instruments, being a

health care worker who was injured by a needle-stick, having blood exposure to

an individual known to have Hepatitis C, or being born to a mother infected with

hepatitis C. " Individuals with these risk factors should speak to their doctors

about their risk of hepatitis C and whether they should be tested, " she said.

" An estimated 3.2 million persons in the United States have chronic hepatitis C

virus infection. Most people do not know they are infected because they don't

look or feel sick. " According to , there are two forms of hepatitis C -

acute or chronic. The acute version of the disease is short-term, and occurs

within the first six months after a person becomes exposed to the virus, she

said. Most of these people will not experience symptoms, she

added. " Approximately 75 to 85 percent of people who become infected with

hepatitis C virus develop chronic infection, " explained . " Chronic

hepatitis C is a serious disease than can result in long-term health problems

when the hepatitis C virus remains in a person's body. " These long-term problems,

sometimes lasting a lifetime, can lead to serious liver problems, such as

cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) or liver cancer, she said. Some cases can lead

to death.Like chlamydia, hepatitis C can be prevented, and testing for the

illness is easily done through a routine blood test that measures liver function

and liver enzyme levels, explained . However, unlike chlamydia, a person

infected with hepatitis C is not easily treatable. " There is no medication

available to treat acute hepatitis C infection, " said. " Doctors usually

recommend rest, adequate nutrition, and fluids. " For more information of

hepatitis C or chlamydia, visit PHDM online at www.phdm.org or LMAS at

www.lmasdhd.org.© Copyright 2011 Daily Press.