With a surge of hepatitis C cases recently diagnosed on the Garden Island, Malama Pono Kaua‘i AIDS Project Executive Director D.Q. Jackson helped host an educational luncheon Friday afternoon at Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Lihu‘e. More than 50 local residents
With a surge of hepatitis C cases recently diagnosed on the Garden Island, Malama Pono Kaua‘i AIDS Project Executive Director D.Q. Jackson helped host an educational luncheon Friday afternoon at Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Lihu‘e.
More than 50 local residents packed the conference room to hear Dr. Jimmy Yoon, Kaua‘i Medical Clinic’s infectious disease specialist, and Joseph Leahy, a Tibotec Pharmaceutical community liaison, share information about the viral liver disease and answer questions.
More than 450 cases of hepatitis C have been diagnosed on Kaua‘i and an estimated 600 to 1,000 more people are infected but unaware, Jackson said.
“We had no idea” there were so many cases, he added, noting a number of residents are co-infected with HIV, a deadly immune system disease.
Hepatitis C is spread through contact with infected blood, contaminated needles, razors and tattoo or body-piercing tools, but it is not easily spread through sex, according to a Hepatitis Foundation International fact sheet.
“Alcoholism is one of the biggest problems causing hepatitis C,” Leahy said, noting how inflammation of the liver can lead to the disease causing cirrhosis and cancer.
“There’s a lot of need in the community to talk more about hepatitis C,” he added.
In the U.S., 4 million people live with hepatitis C and 30,000 new cases are diagnosed annually. More than 150 million worldwide have been diagnosed, according to Leahy.
This is compared to 1.4 million people in the U.S. with HIV and 40 million worldwide, he added.
Although effective treatment exists, the longer a person lives with the “silent killer,” the greater the risk of death or need for a transplant.
Hepatitis C earned its nickname because only one in five people with acute infection show symptoms, which include fever, fatigue, poor appetite, stomach pain, nausea and jaundice, Leahy said.
“These are things people excuse for a common cold,” he added.
Yoon and Leahy volunteered to stay after the scheduled one-hour time slot to field additional questions from residents.
“It’s not all doom and gloom. It’s not a death sentence,” Yoon said, adding that 80 percent of people with the disease die from something else.
But most patients are asymptomatic, he reiterated, stressing the need for residents to get tested so treatment can be as effective as possible.
Malama Pono, 4357 Rice St. Suite 101, Lihu‘e, offers confidential and free HIV and hepatitis C testing, counseling, outreach and treatment information.
For more information, call 246-9577 or visit www.malama-pono.org.
• Nathan Eagle, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or neagle@kauaipubco.com.
