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Author Topic: AirJet Exposure to HCV in Veterans - NPR News Story today  (Read 12557 times)

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Offline kavita

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AirJet Exposure to HCV in Veterans - NPR News Story today
« on: April 07, 2016, 09:30:43 am »
Hi Folks,

This might be of interested to veterans who may have been exposed to HCV during the Vietnam era and post-Vietnam era through the early 1990's.

http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/31428/20160330/a-test-a-cure-north-country-veterans-battle-hepatitis-c

Best wishes,

Kavita

Offline beto

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  • Posts: 548
  • "no risk it, no biscuit"
Re: AirJet Exposure to HCV in Veterans - NPR News Story today
« Reply #1 on: April 07, 2016, 01:18:49 pm »
Thanks Kavita,

Those jet guns were barbaric.  With all that the Vietnam era vets had to go through, you add that to the mix.  The abused and forgotten veterans of a war that everyone wanted to forget about.  They suffered from PTSD before anyone took it serious.  They received the worst health care of any vets in history.  The surviving vets of that era deserve everyone's praise and attention.

Finally (if true) some good news.  Cure all that are HCV positive in short order and give them support and follow-up.  All of us inflicted with the virus have endured the awful stigma of HCV.  It must have been ten fold for Veterans of Nam, because the war itself was painted with the negative connotations of drug abuse throughout all the coverage in the media of that time.

My heart goes out to all of the living veterans of that awful war and the war on the home front that most continue to fight. 
HCV/nonA,nonB acute phase 1975
HCV detected active 1990
HCV persistent chronic diagnosis 1995
1995 liver enzymes mild elevations
1996 Biopsy F2 fibrosis
treatment naive geno 1-A
2000-to early 2015 Viral load 150, 000 to 800, 000
recent liver enzymes before treatment alt/ast 59to209,  Fibroscan F4,cirrhosis
start tx Harvoni 7/11/2015
6.5 week-UD-ast/alt 25/25
9wk-UD-ast18 alt23
10/3/15 completed tx
11/5/15 new fibroscan f0-f1 amazed
6wk EOT UD ast/alt 20/20
12EOT-UD-ast/alt19/21
25wk-SVR! 19/18

Offline Lynn K

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Re: AirJet Exposure to HCV in Veterans - NPR News Story today
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2016, 01:30:06 am »
I remember getting airgun shots in Basic Training in 1976 and a couple of other times later for flu shots. I have other risk factors so I don't think I got hep c from airgun shots.
Genotype 1a
1978 contracted, 1990 Dx
1995 Intron A failed
2001 Interferon Riba null response
2003 Pegintron Riba trial med null response
2008 F4 Cirrhosis Bx
2014 12 week Sov/Oly relapse
10/14 fibroscan 27 PLT 96
2014 24 weeks Harvoni 15 weeks Riba
5/4/15 EOT not detected, ALT 21, AST 20
4 week post not detected, ALT 26, AST 28
12 week post NOT DETECTED (07/27/15)
ALT 29, AST 27 PLT 92
24 week post NOT DETECTED! (10/19/15)
44 weeks (3/11/16)  fibroscan 33, PLT 111, HCV NOT DETECTED!
I AM FREE!

Offline slats1056

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  • SVR to all and to all a good life!
Re: AirJet Exposure to HCV in Veterans - NPR News Story today
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2016, 08:44:10 am »
 This post jogged My memory when I read it. I remember getting immunization shots with an airgun injector in the early to mid 60's for school requirements several times. But I digress. Though I am one of the poster children for ways to get HCV , it is very doubtful that this was the cause in My case! Never even gave it a thought until reading this.
73 non ab 98 hep c refused pegint/riba
6-15 Gen.1b 1/2 MIL ALT72 AST37 No cirrhosis
7-15  Harvoni 12 weeks
10-14-15 EOT VIRAL LOAD NON-DET  
12-30-15 EOT+12 VIRAL LOAD NON DET  SVR12            8-9-18 HCV LOAD 1.02IU/ml AST22  ALT30 RELAPSE?
9-18-18 confirmed gt 1b relapse
10-16-18 approved 16 weeks Mavyret

Offline lporterrn

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  • LucindaPorterRN
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Re: AirJet Exposure to HCV in Veterans - NPR News Story today
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2016, 02:23:25 pm »
Actually Slats, you may have been exposed earlier than you thought, and immunizations may have transmitted hep C. Check out my blog on Monday for more on this...https://www.hepmag.com/blogger/lucindakporter
Lucinda Porter, RN
1988 Contracted HCV
1997 Interferon nonresponder
2003 PEG + ribavirin responder-relapser
2013 Cured (Harvoni + ribavirin clinical trial)
https://www.hepmag.com/blogger/lucindakporter

Offline beto

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  • "no risk it, no biscuit"
Re: AirJet Exposure to HCV in Veterans - NPR News Story today
« Reply #5 on: April 08, 2016, 03:13:04 pm »
So Lucinda,

While perusing your blog page i was harpooned by the essay that discusses HPgV-1 Pegavirus co-infection w/HCV.  Wow!  As I was searching for more information I found the link below that focuses on HPgV-2.  Have you come across that discovery?  I wonder what the implications are.  Like, do these pegavirus co-infections die with harvoni treatment?  Or, could it somehow be implicated with the post treatment syndrome that befalls some in EOT?  Now you got my curiosity going...

Anyway I know it is new science and it is going to be awhile before we know anything.  These viruses are so fascinating to me.  Makes one wonder about the viruses that we just do not know about, that are in the blood supply. (twilight Zone music here).

http://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1005325
HCV/nonA,nonB acute phase 1975
HCV detected active 1990
HCV persistent chronic diagnosis 1995
1995 liver enzymes mild elevations
1996 Biopsy F2 fibrosis
treatment naive geno 1-A
2000-to early 2015 Viral load 150, 000 to 800, 000
recent liver enzymes before treatment alt/ast 59to209,  Fibroscan F4,cirrhosis
start tx Harvoni 7/11/2015
6.5 week-UD-ast/alt 25/25
9wk-UD-ast18 alt23
10/3/15 completed tx
11/5/15 new fibroscan f0-f1 amazed
6wk EOT UD ast/alt 20/20
12EOT-UD-ast/alt19/21
25wk-SVR! 19/18

Offline lporterrn

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  • LucindaPorterRN
    • LucindaPorterRN
Re: AirJet Exposure to HCV in Veterans - NPR News Story today
« Reply #6 on: April 08, 2016, 08:56:01 pm »
Ah yes, here is a little blog I wrote on it, but basically, it won't tell you much more than what you read: https://www.hepmag.com/blog/hepatitis-c-relatives
And yes, there may be so much more, Rod Serling...
Lucinda Porter, RN
1988 Contracted HCV
1997 Interferon nonresponder
2003 PEG + ribavirin responder-relapser
2013 Cured (Harvoni + ribavirin clinical trial)
https://www.hepmag.com/blogger/lucindakporter

Offline Mugwump

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  • My number of posts means nothing, piscor ergo sum!
Re: AirJet Exposure to HCV in Veterans - NPR News Story today
« Reply #7 on: April 09, 2016, 09:55:34 pm »
WW2 in the pacific was also one place where this disease might have early origins and first started to spread in the military of both the Australian and US armies, navy and air force. One of the most pressing issues was getting effective inoculations against tropical diseases and what was done might very well have introduced several of the genotypes of HCV into the populations where it was not prevalent. Serum was extracted from the blood of native populations of the south pacific indigenous peoples who had immunities to the tropical diseases that were targeted for the inoculation program.


There was then an increase in the number of cases of non specific serum hepatitis within the military which continued on and was not easily explained.
http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs/wwii/communicablediseasesV5/chapter17.htm The inoculations by air gun might have been part of the equation but they were not the main cause of the rapid spread of non a non b after WW2.


Because the initial large exposure then spread on the battlefield, mostly in surgical situations, the disease then became many times more common among vets who served all the way to and including the Vietnam fiasco. We cannot forget that many who served in WW2 and Korea also served in Vietnam. It is time for the record to be set straight and the stigma surrounding this affliction needs to be exposed for what it is, a fear of the truth which has lead to stigmatization, ignorance and prejudice. The same way PTSD was stigmatised for so many centuries.
« Last Edit: April 11, 2016, 01:45:17 am by Mugwump »
Caution shameless self promotion below :-)
https://www.hepmag.com/article/eric-reesor-27742-782589663
DING DONG MY DRAGON (HCV) IS FINALLY DEAD!

Offline FutureThinker

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  • Onward and upward!
Re: AirJet Exposure to HCV in Veterans - NPR News Story today
« Reply #8 on: April 10, 2016, 03:00:49 pm »
Beto, thanks for that link -- I agree, the field of virology is fascinating! We still have an awful lot to learn, for sure. FT
Treatment naive
Likely contracted mid-70s
Diagnosed 1a, 2011
F1-2
Harvoni X 12 weeks, completed 5/17/16
Pre-treatment: VL 3 mil, AST 64, ALT 84
4 week labs: VL 30, AST 21, ALT 14
8 week labs: VL UD!!!, AST 22, ALT 16
12 week labs: VL UD, AST 23, ALT 14
2 wk EOT: VL UD
12 wk EOT: VL UD, AST 22, ALT 13 =  SVR 12! Yay! 
Last hep appointment: VL UD, AST 19, ALT 12 = SVR 39! I AM DONE!

 


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