Posted: 8-Jul-2005 << BACK
JANE SYMONS - Health Editor
AS MANY as 500,000 Brits have a disease that could kill but only one in ten know they are infected. If you have a tattoo or piercing, have had medical treatment abroad or shared a toothbrush or razor, you could be one of them. Professor Graham Foster, a liver specialist at St Marys Hospital in London, warns: People are dying though ignorance. Britain is facing a silent epidemic of Hepatitis C a virus that attacks the liver.It is spread through the blood actress Pamela Anderson caught it by sharing a tattoo needle with then husband Tommy Lee but many others have no idea how, or when, they caught it. One in four of those infected will beat the virus and may not even realise they have had it. But three out of four will develop a chronic infection, with the virus slowly destroying their livers. Symptoms include pain around the liver, which is on the right, just under your ribs, tiredness, poor concentration, jaundice and nausea. Prof Foster says: Some people talk about having a brain fog. But its perfectly possible to have no symptoms at all. If it is not treated, one in five people infected will end up with cirrhosis of the liver. A transplant will be their only hope.
Around 55 per cent of patients can be cured with a course of anti-viral drugs. Even if this does not get rid of all the infection, it slows the disease. Prof Foster says: There are some very promising new treatments on the way and there is a lot you can do to protect your liver and make sure you dont infect anyone else.
Here, five people with Hepatitis C tell their stories.
YOUNG mum Liana Stevens found out she had Hepatitis C the same day her GP told her she was pregnant. Doctors believe Liana contracted the disease in the womb from her mum, Cindy, who died of liver disease in 2003, aged just 47. Liana, 26, says: After Mum died, my brother suggested we were tested and it came back positive. After the birth of her son Finley, now nine months, a liver biopsy revealed she has cirrhosis. Liana was terrified she had passed on the virus to her child. She says: They cant test babies until they are 12 weeks old. The wait was horrible but, luckily, he is negative. Husband Philip, 28, is also negative but Liana isnt taking any chances. She says: Ive done loads of research to find out about the precautions I have to take silly things like Philip and I keeping our toothbrushes separate and me not borrowing his razor any more. Liana, a part-time manager from Nottingham, is now two months into a one year course of treatment. She says: If people think theyve been exposed, the sooner they find out the better. Ignorance isnt bliss in this case.
AFTER her boyfriend died in a fire and her best friend committed suicide, Gemma Peppe admits she went off the rails.For a brief time, 17 years ago, she turned to heroin to escape and she is still living with the consequences. Gemma, then 20, was admitted to hospital with jaundice. She was diagnosed with non-specific hepatitis and told she would make a full recovery. She says: Ive always had a lot of pain near my liver and Ive been going to my doctor for 17 years complaining about the symptoms of what turned out to be Hep C. She quit her job as a music agent because of constant exhaustion. The following January in 2002 a liver-function test showed something was wrong and her GP finally tested her for Hep C. Gemma, from South London now a film-maker has started a one-year course of anti-viral drugs. She says: Some people think I brought it on myself. But plenty of people experimented with drugs when they were younger. They shouldnt be made to feel ashamed of their past.
NIMROD PING has battled back to health after being resuscitated following liver failure. The architect was diagnosed in 1999 and forced to give up his post as a Brighton councillor. Nimrod, 45, says: I kept getting really tired, not being able to concentrate.It felt like a massive dose of flu that I just couldnt shake off. My GP tried everything before he finally tested me and discovered it was Hepatitis C. Nimrod doesnt know how or when he contracted the potentially deadly virus. He says: I have always been reasonably clean-living but I have a tattoo and Ive also had my ears pierced. In the Eighties I had a tooth removed in rural France and I thought at the time that the dentist wasnt too clean. Any one of these things could be the source of his infection. In 2000, Nimrod had a six-month course of Interferon a natural antiviral protein made by the body. It didnt work and in 2003 doctors tried a combination of Interferon and Ribovirin, a powerful anti-viral drug. Nimrod says: I have survived by living incredibly carefully Ive gone vegetarian, no alcohol, no smoking and lots of exercise. Ive just been tested again and the virus is still there but its not very active and my liver is in pretty good shape. My doctors are fairly happy but its a bit of a timebomb. Knowing that you have Hep C at least means that you can improve your chances by looking after yourself. You can also take steps like not sharing razors or toothbrushes to make sure you don't pass it on to anyone else.
LECTURER Nick Green was devastated to discover he has had Hep C for nearly 20 years and hasnt got a clue how he caught it. Nick, 43, from Nottingham, says: Ive never taken drugs, never had a blood transfusion. I can only think it was an accidental needle-stick injury when I was playing cricket in the park. Or maybe it was caused by blood contact when I was doing first aid at work. Nick was first admitted to hospital in 1987 with severe abdominal pains, fatigue and nausea. He says: I was back in 1994 and 1997 and diagnosed with everything from ME to appendicitis. My symptoms would clear up after a week and I would be sent home. Last year Nick was so ill he lost 4st and was finally diagnosed on his fourth visit to hospital. The illness forced himto quit his job and he now struggles to play cricket. He says: I get very tired very easily. I still manage to play cricket one day a week but it wipes me out for a few days afterwards. He has twice had to stop treatment because of side effects which include nausea and exhaustion. Nick says: Im hoping to try again later this month.
NEIL HUDSON was given 164 units of blood after pneumonia led to blood poisoning. One was contaminated with Hepatitis C but it was nine years before he found out. He says: In late 1999 I went to have some tests for high blood pressure. They found the Hep C antibodies and tested me again and found that the virus was active in my blood. I was petrified because I didnt know anything about the disease. Neil, 34, a graphic designer from South London, began treatment in early 2001 but tests the following year revealed the bug was still there.That was absolutely devastating. After going through all the side-effects of the treatment I was still ill, he says. Neil was offered a new treatment, Pegylated Interferon, which is now used frequently. He adds: It was another year of treatment and I was very nervous but my nine-month test in May was clear. I was walking around with a fatal blood disorder. I was a danger to other people. But thousands of others are walking around with it and dont even know.
THE SUN, Thursday, July 7, 2005
COULD YOU BE A VICTIM OF HEPATITIS CEPIDEMIC?
For information call the Hep C Trust on 0870 200 1200 or see www.hepcuk.info.
