Ignoring Hepatitis C is not Bliss

While humankind has known of Hepatitis as an infectious liver disease since the 8th century, our specific knowledge of Hepatitis C is decidedly more recent. Hepatitis C was only identified as a separate disease in 1988. Despite the discovery being relatively recent, the rates of Hepatitis C infection have been reduced because of prevention programs. However, in the last few years, the effects of infection have started to increase and it is time to pay the disease more attention.

Though the various forms of Hepatitis all share a common name, they are grouped because of the effect they have on human health rather than a relationship to one another. The diseases all infect the liver to some degree. At present there are 5 known forms of viral Hepatitis labeled A through E. In developed countries, the only two common forms are Hepatitis B and C. Of the two, only Hepatitis B currently has a vaccine.

In Australia, the UK, Canada, and the US, the approximate numbers of people infected by Hepatitis C (HCV) are 211,000, 185,000, 242,000 and 3.2 million, respectively. Worldwide the number of people infected is estimated at between 270 and 300 million. Unfortunately due to a frequent lack of symptoms, between 1 and 2 in 5 people with the disease are unaware that they are infected. For 3 in 4 people who contract Hepatitis C, the infection will become chronic. These two factors make controlling the spread of the disease more difficult.

Once infected, by being born with the infection, through exposure to contaminated blood or because of unprotected sex, some people with Hepatitis C can eventually suffer liver failure or liver cancer. Hepatitis C causes cirrhosis or the development of scar tissue in the liver and over 20 to 40 years can lead to liver failure in roughly 20% of those with chronic Hepatitis C. With liver failure, organ transplantation is the only option and Hepatitis C is the cause of almost half of the liver transplants in the US.

As late as 2007, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) were indicating that the rate of Hepatitis C was decreasing and the rate had decreased by 90% between 1992 and 2007. In Australia, the University of New South Wales reported that the rate of new Hepatitis C infections had dropped by 50% between 1999 and 2009. In Canada, data from 1999 to 2006 showed a decrease in infections of more than 20%.

Unfortunately, this downward trend has reversed in some countries in the last few years. Between 2007 and 2008, the UK reported an annual increase in infections of 6%. In Canada, the rate of new infections has increased by 37% from 2006-2008. Unfortunately for the US, no infection rate information has been published since 2007 so if similar increases are being seen, the US would not know.

In addition to these increased infection rates, what is equally unfortunate is that only 17% of Americans with Hepatitis C are receiving any of the various antiviral treatments according to a study by the University of Michigan. Despite the ability to eliminate the disease in 40-90% of cases and the ability to slow the rate of disease progression in cases where the disease is not curable, people are not being treated. With 49% of patients having not been told of their disease and another 24% not being prescribed antiviral drugs, a significant number of those with the condition are not receiving any meaningful form of treatment and also have a small risk of infecting others.

While the effects of Hepatitis C on the body do take years to accumulate, the Baby Boomers infected in the 70s and 80s who were under treated are now starting to become ill from the disease. In the US, the rates of liver cancer have tripled since the 1970s and in Canada, the rates have doubled in the last 5 years alone. Similarly, the rate of liver transplants rose by 25% from 2000 to 2007. In both countries, Hepatitis C infection is one of the major contributing causes.

To prevent significant health care costs and the early deaths of many people who do not even know they have Hepatitis C, more efforts in blood screening and use of antiviral drugs are required even for those who have had the disease for decades. When compared to the costs of surgery and organ transplants, the use of blood tests and medications is almost always a more cost effective solution. While ignorance was expected prior to the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus in the late 1980s, there is no excuse now given the scientific knowledge and medications that currently exist.

Have you been newly diagnosed with Hepatitis C or have a damaged liver from years with the disease? Share your experiences with others in the Hepatitis C forums.

Related Links

http://www.stanford.edu/group/virus/1999/tchang/history.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2009/s2680448.htm

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/01/11/hepatitis-institute-medicine-us.html

http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1259152221464

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/chronichepc/

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/health/27iht-snvital.1.5044391.html

http://www.phs.utoronto.ca/ohemu/doc/EpiHCVOnt.pdf

http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/hepatitis_c.html

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/sti-its-surv-epi/pdf/hcv-epi-eng.pdf

http://www.natap.org/2009/newsUpdates/121409_01.htm

http://www.natap.org/2009/EASL/EASL_90.htm

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122542477/abstract

http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2009.09.067

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124082757.htm

http://www.natap.org/2009/HCV/060309_01.htm

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20091023/liver_cancer_091023

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/hpb/2009/00000011/00000005/art00006

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