Hepatitis Forums
Hepatitis C Prevention, Transmission and Testing => Am I Infected? => Topic started by: iana5252 on January 04, 2012, 12:49:29 pm
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Great piece from The Uptowner...
Hepatitis C Needs Higher Profile, Health Workers Say
A middle-aged man hesitantly enters the CORNER Project syringe exchange program’s office on 176th Street and Wadsworth Avenue in Washington Heights.
“How are you doing today?,” asks Taeko Frost, program director at the CORNER Project, who is in charge of hepatitis C testing. “You OK?” She will be testing him for hepatitis C, a chronic disease affecting the liver.
A lot of information is crammed into these close quarters. The walls are plastered with posters and flyers about hepatitis C: testing, treatment and prevention.
The man, who asked for anonymity, takes a seat and rolls up his sleeve. Taeko explains the risks of sharing needles and cotton when using injected drugs with others and emphasizes the importance of a healthy diet and safe sex, regardless of this blood test’s results.
She gently taps his large, muscular arm for a vein, laughing as he jokes about having none left. She fastens a blue elastic band around his arm; he winces as she inserts the needle.
With a government estimate of 4 million Americans infected, viral hepatitis C infections are three to five times more common than HIV, according to a 2010 study by the National Institute of Medicine. The study adds that in the next 10 years, about 150,000 people in the United States will die from liver cancer and end-stage liver disease associated with chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
Read the full article...
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Thank you for sharing. Every little bit helps raise awareness.
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For something that affects so many people, I don't understand why there isn't more publicity about it. Even with more awareness the problem is going to get worse, but more awareness usually means more funding.
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Good point Debby. Hadn't even thought of the funding implications.