Posted: 16-Mar-2005 << BACK
Wed 16 Mar 2005 The Scotsman
Ex-Beach Boy Urges Awareness over Hepatitis C
By Lyndsay Moss, PA Health Correspondent
The Government today drafted in a former pop star to help raise awareness among the public about the risks of hepatitis C infection.
Former Beach Boy David Marks, who found out he had the virus in 1999, was unveiling a photographic exhibition in Londons Leicester Square.
The three-metre high portraits, taken by photographer Michele Martinoli, show people from across England who have lived with hepatitis C.
Research shows that four out of five people in England know little or nothing about hepatitis C. And 80% of the estimated 200,000 people who are infected are unaware of their condition, the Department of Health said.Hepatitis C, which can go undetected for up to 30 years, is usually spread by the transfer of blood from person to person, such as sharing needles when injecting drugs. Others at risk include people who had a blood transfusion before screening for the virus was introduced in 1991.
It can also be spread through unprotected sex, tattoos and piercings.Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson said: This event is an innovative way of raising public awareness of hepatitis C and will help with efforts to prevent new cases and to diagnose and treat those who are already infected.
By touring major cities in England, the photographic exhibition will help communicate key messages about the disease to the public across the country.
Marks added: People need to take a few minutes out of their day to step back and face their pasts ... have I ever injected drugs using shared equipment, even just once? Have I had an unsafe tattoo or piercing?
If the answer is yes, call the Hepatitis C Information Line for advice about hepatitis C and whether you should consider being tested.
Martinoli, who was herself successfully treated for hepatitis C, said: There is a social stigma around the disease caused by lack of awareness.
I hope these portraits show that hepatitis C affects people from all walks of life.
Its important that we bring hepatitis C out of the shadows to get people to face up to the illness in the same way we did with HIV in the 80s and 90s.The Hepatitis C Information Line is available by calling 0800 451 451, with more advice at www.hepc.nhs.uk.
