Get Tested, Treated for Hepatitis

[Guest guest]

CDC 06-29-11

UNITED STATES: " Get Tested, Treated for Hepatitis "

Atlanta Journal-Constitution (06.09.11):: Gracie Bond Staples

Hepatitis C “is a neglected disease in the United States that is killing

thousands,” according to Atlanta liver specialist Dr. Norman Gitlin. “Next time

you go to Field and they announce that 50,000 people are watching the

Braves, 1,000 of them have hepatitis C.”

Of the 4 million Americans believed to have hepatitis C virus, just 800,000, 20

percent, have been diagnosed or offered treatment. The reason, Gitlin said, is

two-fold: Americans are woefully unaware of HCV, and most people who are

infected do not show symptoms.

Those most at-risk are baby boomers, who might have been infected with HCV

decades ago either through blood transfusions, drug use, sex or treatment for

hemophilia. Body piercings and tattoos also carry risk. The blood-borne virus

can lie dormant for decades.

While there is no vaccine against HCV, the disease can be cured, Gitlin said.

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration approved two new medicines, Incivek

and Victrelis, each of which, combined with standard treatment of ribavirin and

pegylated interferon, can boost the rate of sustained virological response and

reduce the time of treatment.

Gitlin said HCV “accounts for 54 percent of all liver transplants in the

country. So you need to be identified and treated before it progresses to

late-stage disease.”