Submitted by LAURA SANCHEZ
May 19th is National Hepatitis Testing Day!
More than 2.4 million Americans live with Hepatitis C. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that 4 in 10 people who are infected with Hepatitis C don’t know about their infection and that the rates of new Hep-C infections are 4X higher than they were 10 years ago. Rates of new infections are highest among Baby Boomers (born 1945-1965) and Millennials (born 1981-1996).
Both Baby Boomers and Millennials each make up one-third of all Hep-C infections for a total of 2/3rd of infections! Baby Boomers suffer from the lack of testing for Hepatitis C in our blood supplies before the 1990s while younger generations face the peril of shared needles associated with our drug pandemics and the smaller, but still real risk of tattooing practices.
We don’t have a vaccine for Hepatitis C yet, like for Hepatitis A and B, but the cures now are nearly 100% effective and without side effects. The Biden administration will ask for congressional support in the next budget cycle to mount a national campaign to eradicate Hepatitis C by 2030 through universal testing and readily available treatment.
Please consider asking your doctor to test for Hepatitis C. The CDC recommends that every citizen be tested at least once in their life.
In 1978, when I was 15, I had open heart surgery when a transfusion gave me Hepatitis C. In my 40s, we started regular blood labs because I felt fatigued. For many years, doctors in our town noted my unchanging mildly elevated ALT and AST liver values, but never tested for Hepatitis C. Mild elevation of ALT and AST is associated with many health problems, but it’s also a signature calling card of Hepatitis C attacking the liver!
I was 58 before scary sickness finally forced me to seek health care outside of our community. My new doctor took one look at my long unbroken record of elevated ALT and AST and ran the Hep C test that diagnosed my condition. The anti-viral treatment was simple and my ALT/AST returned to normal instantly. I am now clear of Hepatitis C, but I will live with damage from those many untreated years before that easy test. I am thankful for the scientists who discovered the effective cure and for the health care worker who ran the test. Ask for a Hepatitis C test. The liver you save may be your own.
Three cheers for National Hepatitis Testing Day! Huzzah!
