Efforts focus on fighting hepatitis in Georgia
Efforts focus on fighting hepatitis in Georgia
By PATRICIA GUTHRIE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/12/06
Saving more Georgians from the ravages of hepatitis will be the focus of
exhibits and and a press conference Monday at the Capitol.
Several organizations, physicians and patients, say they plan to lobby for more
funding for hepatitis screening and prevention.
Hepatitis is a viral disease that inflames the liver, and can lead to cirrhosis,
liver cancer, liver failure and early death. Three different viruses cause the
three forms of hepatitis, known as A, B, and C.
"Hepatitis is the pandemic that no one is talking about," said Fred Thompson,
CEO of the American Liver Foundation, one of several national experts expected
today. "Many people are infected and then they unwittingly spread it."
Georgia's rates of hepatitis are two to three times the national average.
Contributing factors include a large population of people living with HIV/AIDS,
immigrants moving from hepatitis-plagued countries, and little prevention in
Georgia prisons, health officials say.
Hepatitis A is typically spread through contaminated food and water; hepatitis B
is spread through sex or contaminated blood, hepatitis C , the most deadly of
the three, is transmitted through sex, dirty needles or contaminated blood.
Infants can also be infected by their mothers.
Medical and social costs of the disease are expected to soar in coming years as
infected people begin experiencing debilitating symptoms.
About 260 Georgians need liver transplants; most of them suffer advanced
hepatitis
People can get vaccinated for hepatitis A and B. But hepatitis C has no vaccine
and no cure. It's an insidious infection that can attack the body for 20 years
or more before symptoms lead to a diagnosis. By that time, liver damage is
irreversible.
Most physicians don't routinely test for hepatitis, and most people don't know
why the blood test is important, said Cathalene Teahan, a nurse and lobbyist for
the Georgia AIDS Coalition.
Most county health clinics in the state also don't offer Hepatitis C screening,
she said.
The group plans to request money for routine hepatitis B vaccinations in Georgia
prisons because studies show that prisoners commonly spread the disease upon
being released.
http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/stories/0213metleghepatitis.html