Posted: 1-Jul-2005 << BACK
Nottingham Evening Post
Charles Walker Health Correspondent
NICK GREEN is infected with a potentially deadly illness. But rather than hide the fact, he is drawing attention to it. Next week, nine-foot high images of Mr Green, 43, and eight other people who suffer from hepatitis C, will appear in the Old Market Square. The exhibition is part of a campaign to raise awareness of the virus, which attacks the liver. Up to 2,000 people in greater Nottingham may already be infected with hepatitis C, it is thought, but the majority - as many as eight out of ten - do not know it.
The disease can incubate in the body for up to 30 years before the symptoms, such as tiredness and abdominal pain, begin to emerge. Doctors believe Mr Green was infected two decades ago, but he was only diagnosed last year. He has agreed to participate in the "FaCe It" campaign, run by the Department of Health, because he does not want other people to live in ignorance or put themselves at risk. Mr Green, a lecturer in teacher training at the University of Derby, said: "With an illness like this people need to know what is going on and need to be tested as well as being sure they are taking appropriate measures to protect themselves."
Last year the Evening Post reported that Notts doctors fear a "time bomb" of unidentified cases will lead to many deaths in the coming years. Hepatitis C is passed on through contact with blood and body fluids. Many people are infected in their youth, dabbling with drugs or through sexual partners. Others have contracted the virus through blood transfusions received before 1991, when a screening programme for donors was introduced. Infection rates in Nottingham are rocketing among intravenous drug users. The proportion of drug users testing positive for hepatitis C at The Health Shop in Broad Street, has increased from 26% to 55% in three years.
Mr Green does not know how he came to be infected. He has never used drugs but wonders if he caught the disease while working at a drop-in centre as a young man, when he may have come into contact with the virus. Mr Green, who has a partner but no children, has suffered occasional, severe abdominal pains which have led to spells in hospital. But it was only in August last year, after a period of severe fatigue, insomnia and deteriorating eyesight, that a test revealed he had the disease. He says he is unperturbed at highlighting his own case close to where he lives. He said: "People will be understanding. The message needs to get across. This is something that could happen to anybody, regardless of their particular lifestyle."
The campaign, which will move to other cities after the exhibition in Nottingham on July 7 and 8, is funded by 2m of Government money. Sir Liam Donaldson, chief medical officer for England, said: "Hepatitis C has emerged as a significant public health challenge over recent years, which is why we need to intensify efforts to prevent new cases and to diagnose and treat those who are already infected. "In England it is estimated that there are approximately 200,000 people chronically infected and the majority of these are unaware of their infection. "That is why this new FaCe It campaign is so essential. "It will be key in raising awareness about the virus and reducing the number of people who are infected in the future." He said the campaign aims to reduce ignorance of and stigma towards hepatitis C, to encourage people who may have been at risk to come forward for testing, and educate people on how to avoid infection in the future. For further details, call the Hepatitis C information line 0800 451451 (textphone 0800 0850 859), open 10am-10pm, seven days a week, or go to www.hepc.nhs.uk
