Hepatitis C is labeled a "sin disease" as is HIV/AIDS because of its association with injecting drugs and so forth. As someone who has witnessed firsthand the effects of this blood borne disease, I say that no matter the cause, awareness of HCV is necessary.First, it is not only by drugs and needles that Hep C can be contracted, but by blood transfusion. Often enough, people have been given blood that's already been tainted by Hepatitis C and now must live with it for the rest of their life. HCV is often undiagnosed because of its unnoticeable symptoms including: fatigue, fever, nausea/lack of appetite, and pains.HCV involves liver damage/scarring and can result in deadly liver failure. or liver cancer. It is the leading cause for liver transplants and causes 8000 to 10000 deaths per year. 4 times as many people have HCV than HIV and yet the coverage on HCV is minimal at best. Please help me raise awareness to save lives as well as encourage research on this disease!
more info at:
http://www.medicinenet.com/hepatitis_c/index.htm http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/12.02.99/hepatitis-9948.html