May is National Hepatitis Awareness Month. On Wednesday of this past week Canada joined groups from around the world to mark World Hepatitis Day and raise public awareness about hepatitis B and C, two forms of life-threatening liver disease. One in 12 people worldwide is living with hepatitis B or C, including 600,000 Canadians. Many people who have hepatitis B or C don’t even know it because they may not have any obvious symptoms until serious liver damage occurs. 

Hepatitis B and C are chronic, life-long, viral infections that can affect anyone from any walk of life. Both diseases can be spread by exposure to blood or bodily fluids through the sharing of personal hygiene items such as razors, scissors, nail clippers and toothbrushes. The diseases can also be contracted from the use of non-sterile equipment for tattoos and body piercing or during medical procedures where the standard precautions are not observed. Transmission can also occur through the sharing of contaminated needles and other drug-using paraphernalia. Hepatitis B is also spread through unprotected sexual contact and from an infected mother to a child at birth, and is 100 times more infectious than HIV. 

Canada is seen as a world leader in addressing viral hepatitis and the Government of Canada is committed to contributing to the development of a global action plan. To this end, the Public Health Agency of Canada supports the efforts of the Canadian Society for International Health to raise awareness, educate and explore ways to better address hepatitis B and C in the future.

We can all play a role in addressing hepatitis by educating ourselves and by making choices to reduce the risk of infection. For more information visit the Public Health Agency of Canada at www.publichealth.gc.ca or the Brant County Health Unit at www.bchu.org.  You can also speak to a nurse, at the Brant County Health Unit, by calling 519-753-4937.