Hepatitis C 'three, four times higher' than average in Thunder Bay, says local health provider
A coalition of health providers in Thunder Bay are raising awareness for hepatitis C this week
A group of health providers in Thunder Bay, Ont., are gathering together this week to offer free hepatitis C screenings as part of an annual awareness campaign.
"Thunder Bay region has rates of hepatitis C that are three to four times higher than the provincial average," director of education and community development at Elevate N.W.O, Tonya Muchano told CBC News. "There's an estimated 2600 people roughly living with hepatitis C in this region."
She said hepatitis C is a "really slowly progressing infection," and many people can live 20 to 30 years without any symptoms.
The most common misconception of hepatitis C is the method of how the disease is transmitted.
"It is only transmitted through blood to blood contact. There's no other bodily fluid that can transmit hepatitis C," she said, adding that many people are also unaware of the treatment methods that can help cure the disease in about 12 weeks.
Symptoms of advanced hepatitis C can be similar to symptoms of liver damage or liver cancer, which is why the disease is hard to diagnose unless tested.
Muchano recommends people who are exposed to hepatitis C get tested every three months from any local health care provider in the city.
"If someone ... is engaging in behaviours that would put them at risk or activities that would put them at risk of hepatitis C, it's a really good idea to get regularly tested," Muchano explained.
Hepatitis C can be most easily transmitted through the sharing of needles or any type of drug-use equipment, but there are other ways of getting infected as well.
"There's tons of other risk factors where people could have come into contact with hep c, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's a person who uses drugs. They might have gotten a blood transfusion in the 80s, they might have shared a razor or nail clipper with someone who had hepatitis C and got it that way," she said.
As part of the annual World Hepatitis Day on July 28, Muchano said a 20 minute "rapid test" will also be offered free of charge by Liver Care Northwest on Oliver Street on Wednesday and Thursday during a community BBQ.
"It doesn't require a full blood draw from somebody's vein, it just requires a finger prick."
A list of other events this week can be found on the Thunder Bay District Health Unit's website.