At the same time National Hepatitis Awareness month in May calls attention to the potentially deadly infection, local health authorities are warning that viral hepatitis may affect thousands of Pierce County residents.
Officials want to raise awareness of the potentially deadly illness that can cause cirrhosis or liver cancer, and how to avoid it.
“Cases of acute and chronic hepatitis C in Pierce County are on a dramatic rise, especially among young people,” said Kim Desmarais, Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s viral hepatitis coordinator. “Before 2013, we saw up to five cases a year. Now we see up to five a month.”
In an effort to offset the increase in cases, the Health Department works with medical providers and community partners to report, test and manage patients with hepatitis C. Desmaris said the department also works to make sure the patients understand ways to stop the spread of the virus and find treatment options for hepatitis and drug addiction.
Drug use by injection spreads hepatitis C.
Reports the Health Department receives of new cases are just the tip of the iceberg, according to Desmaris. She said many people with the infection may not know they have it. Officials estimate the new cases reported monthly in Pierce County are fewer than 10 percent of the actual total.
According to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as many as 3.9 million Americans have hepatitis C, but only half know they’re infected. The number of people who have had hepatitis C for a long time but are just now finding out has increased because of a recommendation for doctors to routinely test people in the baby boomer generation.
The use of heroin and other illegal drugs through injection are factors in the nationwide increase of hepatitis C cases, according to the CDC. Shared drugs and syringes spread the infection.
In a 2015 survey, the University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute asked 77 needle exchange participants in Pierce County which drugs they injected. The majority (74 percent) said heroin, and 22 percent said methamphetamine. When the UW researchers looked at survey results from 18 needle exchange programs in the state, including Pierce County, researchers found 69 percent injected heroin and 22 percent injected methamphetamine.
Healthcare professionals can treat and cure hepatitis C in as little as eight weeks with very few side-effects, according to health officials. In the past, however, medication wasn’t as effective, took almost a year to work, and caused severe side-effects, so many patients decided not to take them.
Officials said people with previously diagnosed hepatitis C should ask their doctor for a referral to a specialist who can evaluate them for the newer treatment.
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