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Currently, there are about 200 million people worldwide who are infected
with the Hepatitis C virus, 4+ million of those are in the United States
(estimates go as high as 15 million) and 5 million in Western Europe.
The prevalence seems to be higher in Eastern Europe than in Western Europe.
In industrialized countries, HCV accounts for 20% of cases of acute hepatitis,
70% of cases of chronic hepatitis, 40% of cases of end-stage cirrhosis,
60% of cases of hepatocellular carcinoma and 30% of liver transplants
according to the February 1999 consensus statement.
The incidence of new symptomatic infections has been estimated to be
13 cases/100,000 persons annually. For every one person that is infected
with the AIDS virus, there are more than four infected with Hepatitis
C. The CDC estimates that there are up to 230,000 new Hepatitis C infections
in the U.S. every year. Currently, 8,000 to 10,000 deaths each year are
a result of HCV, and by the year 2010, it is estimated that 30,000 to
40,000 patients will die annually of HCV related chronic liver disease.
Although the incidence of new cases of HCV (Hepatitis C Virus) is declining,
an increasing number of HCV patients are identified with cirrhosis and
will face its complications of liver failure and cancer.
There is no vaccine and no completely effective treatment!
If you have just been diagnosed with HCV, try not to panic! I've had
HCV for thirty three (33) years and I'm still around. The article "
What is HCV ?" will
help you to understand Hepatitis C a little better.
I would like to address a thought that so many people with Hepatitis
C seem to have. I've heard this question at least a hundred thousand times..(asked
it myself once)
"Why was I given this disease there is no cure for?"
I personally feel that we were given this disease because we are
strong enough to handle it. Because we will do something about it. Because
we can do something about it. We can build our web pages, we can write
to our government officials, we can educate the public, our loved ones,
yes, even our Doctors about this disease. There are so many misconceptions
about this disease. I hope that in the following pages you will find the
answers to some of your questions.
You will hear that this disease can be spread by kissing and hugging
your loved ones, this is not true.
We have this disease because we will overcome it. I truly believe that.
Having a positive attitude about all of this, is what will get us through
it. But, we can't do it alone. We must work together to get this done.
We must join together to win this battle. This truly is the battle of
our lives. As well as for our lives.
"We have this disease because we can handle it." I know when you're first
diagnosed that you are not thinking like this, but given a little time
you will. If you don't think of yourself as a strong person, I think
you will change your mind on that opinion soon...
Please visit our Hepatitis discussion and support bulletin board.
You are going to find some of the best support on the internet on this
board.
We have just started a new bb for Veterans with Hepatitis C, VETS WITH HEP C. If you are a veteran with
HCV please join others like yourself here to share. This is a new bb and
will take some time to get going.
To Subscribe to the HEP C INFO Only email
list, Please register here. This is NOT a two way list. There are over
4,600 people on this list, so it will never be a 2 way list. You will
receive no more than 3 or 4 Hepatitis C related information posts in any
one day (Unless of course they find a cure!). Some days you will not receive
any posts. Many of these articles are technical, many are the latest
news articles. You will receive a reminder once a week for the chat at
Dr. Koop's website.
Many people have asked me what I do for my hepatitis. I have tried Interferon,
it did not work for me. Currently, I am taking Maximum Milk Thistle I have
tried many of the Milk Thistle products, but I find that I feel 100% better
with this particular brand. (No, I am NOT being paid for this). I have
more energy and less liver pain. While Milk Thistle will NOT cure hepatitis,
it does help to protect the liver.
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