Hepatitis C rate 'will soar'
LOUISE TRECCASI, MEDICAL REPORTER
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,20521109-5006301,00.html
October 03, 2006
11:15pm
Article from: 
THE rate
of hepatitis C and liver disease in South Australia is expected
to double within the next decade unless urgent action is taken
to curb the growing epidemic, a health group warns.
Hepatitis C Council of South Australia acting manager Kerry
Patterson said yesterday "we need to take control and remove the
barriers to accessing treatment". Every week, about 200 people
are diagnosed with the virus in Australia. A national report,
released yesterday, shows 17,200 South Australians have been
exposed to hepatitis C, with 630 estimated to have been exposed
last year. The current rate of infection in SA is 1.5 per cent
of the population.
Hundreds, however,
may be unaware they have the highly contagious virus, which is
transmitted by blood.
Ms Patterson said
the virus, which could lead to liver cancer, was the number one
reason for liver transplants. "The rate of hepatitis C and
related liver disease will only double in South Australia in the
next five to 10 years," she said at the launch of Hepatitis C
Awareness Week.
Health Minister
John Hill said hepatitis C was the "most commonly notified
infectious disease in Australia".
"It is essential
that people living with hepatitis C have information and support
to make informed decisions on the management and treatment of
their condition," Mr Hill said.
SA is the only
state without a hepatitis C strategy but Mr Hill said the
Government was "committed to developing and endorsing a South
Australian action plan based on the priorities identified in the
National Hepatitis C Strategy 2005-08".
Mother-of-two Lynn
Newman said discrimination and lack of information made taking
personal control of her hepatitis C difficult.
Mrs Newman was
diagnosed in 1997 and is still unsure how she contracted the
disease. "I began to hate myself and feared if I had infected my
children or my husband," she said. "I developed liver cancer and
two years ago had a liver transplant."
Mrs Newman said
the disease was not "anything to be ashamed of". "You're not
doing yourself any good if you don't take responsibility and
it's really worth getting checked out and getting treatment,"
she said.
Most cases are a
result of injecting drug use while other causes include
unsterile tattooing, sharing of toothbrushes and razors and
mother-baby transmission.
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