Activity

Hepatitis C is curable and treatment is available locally. One year ago, in December, the Johns Hopkins Viral Hepatitis Center office opened an office in Cumberland to provide hepatitis C treatment and care! We are located on the first floor of the Allegany County Health Department.
Hepatitis C has been under the radar. It’s not talked about and even though it affects millions, people don’t know about it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 3.5 million people in the United States have chronic hepatitis C (hep C) and over half are unaware they have it. People born from 1945-1965, sometimes referred to as baby boomers, are 5 times more likely to have hepatitis C than other adults. People can live with chronic hep C for years or even decades without symptoms, while the virus slowly damages their liver. By the time symptoms do appear, liver damage is often advanced. Left untreated, chronic hep C can cause liver damage, cirrhosis and even liver cancer. It’s one of the leading causes for liver transplants today.
Hep C is a liver disease that results from infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). It is spread primarily through contact with blood from an infected person. Injection drug use is the most common risk factor for HCV, and accounts for 60% of acute HCV infections. Hep C can cause acute and chronic infection. Acute hep C infection usually does not have symptoms and 15-25% of those infected with HCV will clear the virus without treatment. The other 75-85% will develop chronic hep C infection, needing treatment to cure their infection.
The CDC recommends one-time hepatitis C testing for all persons born between 1945–1965 regardless of other risk factors. All other persons should be screened for risk factors for HCV infection, and one time testing should be performed for all persons with an increased risk of HCV infection. Such risks include:
• Injection drug use or intranasal illicit drug use, current or ever
• Tattoos or body piercings in an unclean environment using unsterile equipment
• Worked in a place where you came in contact with infected blood or needles, for example, healthcare workers
• Received clotting factor concentrates produced before 1987 or a blood transfusion before 1992
• Hemodialysis
• Children born to a mother with hep C
• Have signs or symptoms of liver disease (e.g., abnormal liver enzyme tests)
• Living with HIV infection
• Were ever incarcerated
Yearly testing is recommended for persons who inject drugs and for men living with HIV who have unprotected sex with men. Periodic testing should be offered to other persons with ongoing risk factors for exposure to HCV.
HCV can be transmitted through sex but experts believe this doesn’t occur very often. There is some research showing that men who have sex with men, who are living with HIV, and have multiple partners have an increased risk of HCV.
Hepatitis C is not spread by kissing; hugging; shaking hands; sharing food, glasses or utensils; coughing; sneezing; mosquitos; or animals
The only way to know if you have ever been infected with HCV is to get tested. HCV infection can be diagnosed through simple blood testing, but it’s not part of your routine bloodwork. Ask your doctor for this simple blood test. It is important for anyone who is infected with HCV to be referred to a provider with expertise in hepatitis C and liver diseases. Recent advances have made today’s treatment for HCV shorter and more effective, with cure rates above 95%.
Please call 301-759-5101 for information or questions.
We can perform rapid hepatitis C testing in the office or through outreach into the community and we would be glad to a give hepatitis C presentation for your office or group.

Trisha Tichnell, RN
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Department of Infectious Diseases
301-759-5101