Don’t let Hepatitis C stay hidden

To The Editor:

Have you seen the yellow Cs in New York City over the past week and wondered what they are all about?

Find Hep C is meant to raise awareness for hepatitis C – a silent killer that affects more New Yorkers than residents of any other city in the country. Four million Americans have hepatitis C and 75 percent of them don’t know it. Did you know that, African Americans are twice as likely to have hepatitis C as other groups? In fact, 1 in 7 African American men between the ages of 51 and 60 has hepatitis C.

With that said, although there are common misperceptions and stigma, Hepatitis C can affect anyone. In fact, two out of three people with this disease were born between 1946 and 1964 – the baby boomer generation.

Nearly 150,000 New Yorkers are infected with hepatitis C, and hepatitis C is the leading cause of liver cancer and the need for a liver transplant in this country.

The good news is that unlike other infectious diseases, hepatitis C can be cured. Hepatitis C often shows no symptoms. The only way to be sure you don’t have it is to be tested.

People are also at increased risk for hepatitis C if they:

~Had a blood transfusion before 1992.

~Have tattoos or body piercings.

~Used drugs – even just once.

~Work in a healthcare setting.

People can visit www.FindHepC.com to learn more about hepatitis C and find locations around the city to get tested. To find your local hepatitis C statistics, including prevalence rates broken down by age, gender and race/ethnicity, visit www.maphepc.com.

Find Hep C is made possible by Vertex, who is committed to raising awareness for hepatitis C.

Locations

* Port Authority.

Staten Island Ferry
Terminal.

* Sylvia’s Restaurant – Lenox Ave in Harlem.

* Grand Central Station

* Penn Station.

* Cadman Plaza West.

* Union Square.

* 125th & Lexington.

* Central Park/Columbus Circle.

* Times Square.