Hepatitis C infections 'silent epidemic':

By Barb Pacholik, Saskatchewan News Network; Regina Leader-Post
While the H1N1 flu virus dominates the news these days, another virus is quietly growing at a phenomenal rate to become a "silent epidemic," says a Regina physician.

Dr. Didi Emokpare said rates of hepatitis C have risen 114 per cent among Canadian women between 2006 and 2008 and by 76.6 per cent among men, and it's believed the numbers could be much greater because the disease is underdiagnosed.

"This is very silent, staggering number," said Emokpare, noting there's been very little attention paid to the potentially deadly hepatitis C virus (HCV). "It's like it doesn't even exist."

Emokpare is urging more screening for HCV, which can go undetected for decades since it may not lead to illness in its early stages. But detection, through a simple blood test, is important because HCV can be treated and cured, he said.

"If you don't look for it, you won't find it," Emokpare added. Work is underway to establish hepatitis C clinics in Regina and northern Saskatchewan that will screen, treat and monitor the disease.

Emokpare was speaking in Regina on Saturday to those gathered for The Changing Face of AIDS conference organized by AIDS Programs South Saskatchewan. Emokpare is executive director of The Lazarus Foundation, a non-profit organization working toward prevention and eradication of HIV/AIDS and its related disease conditions.

Five to 10 years ago, tuberculosis used to be one of the key killers of those infected with HIV; today, they're likely to die of hepatitis C, said Emokpare. In its later stages, hepatitis C, which is carried in the blood, can lead to liver cirrhosis and cancer.

"This is the new thing that's guaranteed to kill you (those who have HIV AIDS)," said Emokpare, adding about 30 per cent of people with HIV are also infected with HCV.

In Canada, about 300,000 people, mostly between the ages of 25 and 45, have HCV, with about 8,000 new infections per year.

The doctor suggested rates of hepatitis C now are where HIV was in the 1980s. "This is a big deal."

In Saskatchewan the number of carriers has hovered around 600 for the last few years, but Emokpare suspects the actual numbers are higher.

In Canada, the highest risk comes from sharing needles and other "drug-using" equipment, such as straws for inhaling cocaine. But Emokpare said that because many people have HCV don't know it and aren't taking precautions, the disease is being spread outside of drug use.

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