AIDS Committee of North Bay encouraging people to get tested for Hepatitis C
Wednesday marks World Hepatitis Day and the AIDS Committee of North Bay is encouraging people to get tested.
Hepatitis C is a disease that affects the liver. Keri McGuire-Trahan, a nurse practitioner with the AIDS Committee of North Bay, told CTV News that one to two per cent of the population in North Bay is living with the condition.
"That’s a significant number of people in the area and, of course, COVID has skewed things," McGuire-Trahan said.
"Now, there’s more drug and alcohol use so we’re starting to see more positives come in. I suspect our numbers are going to go up a bit more."
As places reopen in North Bay, Trahan said it’s crucial people get tested.
"The test itself is a finger prick like a diabetic test -- we have answers within 20 minutes," she said.
"That tells us whether or not you’ve been exposed. If you have been, we will do more blood work to find out if have active disease, then we offer treatment."
On World Hepatitis Day, the committee is hoping to raise awareness about Hepatitis C and to also clear up any misconceptions.
"A lot of people are mistaken in the sense that they feel like there is vaccines for Hep C, which there is not," said Glenn Petersen who’s the Hepatitis C outreach coordinator for AIDS Committee of North Bay.
"That’s for A and B when you travel. It’s a worldwide problem -- hepatitis in general, and Hep C is a Canadian problem where a lot of it comes from IV drug use."
Trahan has been testing for and treating Hepatitis C since 2006, and she said the treatment is now a lot easier on people’s bodies.
“When we started 20, 25, 30 years ago, the treatment was nasty, it was brutal, lots of side-effects,” she said.
“Now, we’ve advanced that. We have an all oral regime that’s very short -- eight to 12 weeks with virtually no side-effects and a 95 per cent cure rate.”
The AIDS Committee of North Bay offers Hepatitis C testing at their downtown clinic on McIntyre Street West, and also offers testing via their outreach van.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'