HCV1
Hepatitis
C
Information
Hepatitis
C Virus is the leading cause of Liver Transplantation in the US today.
According to the CDC 1.8% of the US population is infected with HCV. This
comes to 4.9 million Americans. Nearly 85%, approximately 4.1 million Americans,
of those infected will go on to chronic HCV.
A
national tracking system analyzed 95,000 hepatitis C tests conducted at
173 VA facilities and 600 associated clinics in 1998. Researchers found
that:
-
Vietnam
Era Vets accounted for about 64% of positive tests.
-
Post-Vietnam
Vets accounted for 18.5% of positive tests.
-
Korean
Vets accounted for 4.5% of positive tests.
-
Post-Korean
Vets accounted for 4.2% of positive tests.
-
Other
periods of service accounted for 9.1% of positive tests.
A recent
study found nearly 8% of 26,000 patients in Department of VA facilities
tested positive for HCV. A six week survey at the VA Medical Center on
Washington, DC found 20% of inpatients tested positive for the virus. An
investigation at the VA Medical Center in San Francisco found that 10%
of inpatients tested positive.
In
1991, 6,600 cases of Hepatitis C were reported to the Department of Veterans
Affairs. The number of new cases has risen each year and 22,000 cases were
reported in 1998.
Most
HCV infected Veterans may remain unaware of their condition!
If
you can lay claim to ANY ONE
of the risk factors below, you need to get tested immediately for HCV.
-
Military
Vaccines with the Jet Injector
-
Blood
Transfusion prior to 1994
-
Received
blood products prior to 1994 (such as hemophiliacs)
-
Needle
stick injuries - Health Care Workers, Police, Fire, EMT personnel
-
Tattoos
- Infected Ink as needles
-
Body
Piercing
-
Long
term dialysis
-
IV
drug use (sharing needles) EVEN ONE TIME
MANY YEARS AGO
-
Intranasal
drug use (sharing straws)
What is
HCV?
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