Hepatitis A & B used to be far more common than Hepatitis C, however with the increasing use of intra-venous recreational drugs, hepatitis C is emerging far more often than previously. You might respond: “who cares?” But when you study the onset & progression of this serious illness, you begin to realize what an impact it is making on society. Furthermore, it can often be a “silent disease” until someone gets extremely sick and dies.
This is not a disease for which one is routinely tested.
You may joyfully meet the love of your life, for example, and decide to get married. Will you know if the person for whom you choose to spend your life is positive for hepatitis C ? Unfortunately the answer is no. “Well then let treatment begin immediately” you say. Unlike many diseases for which modern medicine has found a cure, this is not one of them. There is treatment but no definite cure.
Consider very carefully the risk of death before you enter the world of intra-venous drug use. Even if you escape hepatitis C or the many other infections associated with taking illegal drugs, you are at great risk for serious depression which can lead a person to commit suicide. The media has been busy lately with this very sad consequence.
Recently there has been success using newly developed medicines to treat Hepatitis C. Many studies are going on using different combinations of these new drug. Stay current on the new studies. More soon.
drdahm 