In support of National Hepatitis Testing Day on May 19, the Greenwich Department of Health Division of Special Clinical Services will be offering free walk-in testing for the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Department of Health. The Centers for Disease Control now recommends that all adults born from 1945 through 1965 be screened, as well as others who have risk factors for the disease. While people born during 1945-1965 comprise an estimated 27% of the U.S. population, they account for approximately 75% of all HCV infections. The majority of people infected with HCV (70-85%) develop chronic liver disease. An estimated 3.2 million people in the U.S. are affected.
Hepatitis C is a liver infection spread primarily through contact with the blood of an infected person. Today, most people become infected with HCV by sharing needles or other equipment to inject drugs. Injecting illegal drugs, even just once many years ago, is a risk factor for the disease. However, before 1992, when widespread screening of the blood supply began in the U.S., people may have been exposed to the virus through blood transfusions and organ transplants. Less commonly, a person can also get HCV through sharing personal care items such as razors or toothbrushes that may have come in contact with another person’s blood, or having sexual contact with an infected person. Children born to mothers infected with HCV are also at risk.
The only way to know if a person has HCV is to get tested, since one can live with the virus for decades without having symptoms or feeling sick. Highly effective treatments are now available. There is no vaccine for prevention of HCV. For further questions, please call the Department of Health’s Division of Special Clinical Services at 203-622-6460. In addition, the CDC has developed a five-minute on-line Hepatitis Risk Assessment tool, available at cdc.gov/hepatitis/riskassessment/index.htm
