Health officials in northeast Georgia are encouraging residents to learn more about the different types of viral hepatitis.
The information from District 2 Public Health officials is part of Hepatitis Awareness Month. Millions of Americans live with the liver disease without knowing they're infected, according to the district.
"While many people can live with hepatitis for decades without symptoms or feeling sick, untreated chronic hepatitis can cause serious health problems including liver damage, cirrhosis, and even liver cancer," a news release from the district stated. "Getting tested is the only way to know if you are infected."
The heroin epidemic is driving up hepatitis C infections, with the biggest increase in people in their 20s, U.S. health officials said Thursday.
District public information officer Dave Palmer agreed, saying Hepatitis C is more commonly being seen now in intravenous drug users.
"...maybe with sharing needles or syringes, that's a common route of exposure for hepatitis C now."
Good News Clinics of Gainesville recently was awarded a $35,000 grant it plans to use to support a cost-effective protocol for evaluation and treatment of hepatitis C patients.
On the prevention front, Palmer said hepatitis A can be prevented with a vaccine.
"There's no vaccine for C. There's a vaccine for hepatitis B for babies if they're given that at birth if the mother has been diagnosed with hepatitis B."
Unless people develop symptoms, testing is the only way to determine if they have Hepatitis, according to the health district. Palmer said the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a tool or widget on its website to help people determine if they should be tested.
- Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver infection that can range from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a severe illness lasting several months. Hepatitis A is usually spread when a person’s food or drink has been contaminated with the virus. Hepatitis A can be prevented with a safe and effective vaccine. The Hep A vaccine is recommended for all children at one year of age and for adults who may be at risk.
- Hepatitis B is a liver disease that results from infection with the virus after contact with the blood, semen, or bodily fluids of an infected person. The virus can be passed through sexual contact, injection drug use, and from an infected mother to her baby at birth, if the baby does not receive the vaccine at birth.
- Hepatitis C is a liver disease that is spread when blood from an infected person enters the body of someone who is not infected. Today, most people become infected with Hepatitis C by sharing needles, syringes, and other items used to inject drugs. Hepatitis C can also be transmitted sexually, as well as from an infected woman to her baby.
Source: District 2 Public Health
