May is Viral Hepatitis Awareness Month and this Thursday, May 19, 2022 is Hepatitis Testing Day.
And health officials are working to educate people about this infectious disease.
Among the things the CDC and Delaware’s Div. of Public Health want people to understand is the difference between viral hepatitis and hepatitis.
“Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver and when it’s inflamed or damaged it can affect the liver’s functioning," said Victoria Pyne - the treatment program administrator for DPH’s Viral Hepatitis and Vaccine Preventable Disease Programs. "And viral hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver that is caused by a viral infection.”
Pyne She says numerous types of infections can lead to viral hepatitis - including Hepatitis A, B and C
A and B are preventable with vaccines. There is no vaccine for Hep C, but it can be cured with treatment.
An estimated 2.4-million people in the United States are living with Hepatitis C. Between 880,000 to nearly 1.9-million people have Hep B.
Pyne says Delaware doesn’t have clear numbers on how many residents are living with viral hepatitis because symptoms can take up to 10 years to present.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest everyone get tested for viral hepatitis at least once in their lives.
“On May 19 we encourage you to go out…go to your health provider and just ask for a hepatitis panel (test). And you can get some results and whether or not you have hepatitis and if you do - if you have viral hepatitis - you can get treatment to cure the disease," said Pyne. "We encourage you to get tested and that will help prevent the spread.”
Pyne says there are several risk factors for contracting viral hepatitis, including being born between 1945 and 1965, IV drug use and a job that exposes you to human blood.
She notes viral hepatitis is preventable, but the only way you can find out if you have viral hepatitis is to get tested.
