Hepatitis C is a serious and complex blood-borne infection that manifests as liver problems and can cause serious damage to the liver. But since the symptoms are often silent, a large proportion of patients are unaware that they are carriers of the hepatitis virus.
A recent survey carried out by Janssen laboratories revealed a real lack of knowledge of the disease.
– 1 in 2 French people think that it is impossible to have hepatitis C without noticing it:
– 59% of French people have never been tested
– 66% do not know that there is a cure for hepatitis C.
Hepatitis C: it can be cured
“For hepatitis C, we have treatments with therapeutic combinations with 2 or 3 molecules which allow almost 3 out of 4 patients to be cured, and that is a great revolution” explains Dr Pascal Mélin, doctor and co-founder of SOS-hepatitis.
We can cure it. But the first step is to know that you are the carrier of the hepatitis C virus. However, we know that in France, more than half of the carriers of the virus are patients who ignore each other. Hence the emphasis placed on the importance of screening in this World hepatitis day organized by WHO.
Hepatitis C: how to get tested
Hepatitis C screening is done with a simple blood test in a biomedical analysis laboratory, on prescription from your general practitioner. But you can also go to an anonymous and free screening center (CDAG) or a Sexually Transmitted Infections Information, Screening and Diagnosis Center (CIDDIST).
Screening reveals the presence of antibodies to the hepatitis C virus in the blood serum. These antibodies are slow to appear in the blood, sometimes up to eight weeks, and it is therefore necessary to know how to wait and repeat the examination if in doubt.
