Pubdate: Wed, 19 Jan 2005
Source: New York City Newsday (NY)
Copyright: 2005 Newsday, Inc.
Contact: http://cf.newsday.com/newsdayemail/email.cfm
Website: http://www.nynewsday.com/news/printedition/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3362
Author: Delthia Ricks
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?143 (Hepatitis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

HEPATITIS C IS GROWING DANGER ON LONG ISLAND

Popularity of Tattoos, Body Piercings Contribute to Problem

Cases of hepatitis C are growing rapidly on Long Island -- and even faster 
in the city -- and health officials Tuesday said a lack of funding for 
surveillance and education could cause the number of infections to veer out 
of control.

For the second time in less than two weeks, health experts in New York have 
warned of an epidemic of the blood-borne infection, which they say could 
rival the outbreak of HIV two decades ago. More than 11,000 cases of 
hepatitis C are now known on Long Island. The burgeoning number of cases in 
the city is worse -- between 200,000 and 300,000 -- and experts say there 
is no end to the upswing in sight.

During a joint news conference, Nassau and Suffolk County health officials 
reported a growing wave of hepatitis C infections spawned by body 
piercings, tattooing from contaminated equipment and the popularity of 
crystal methamphetamine. Crystal meth, which first rose to popularity among 
long-haul truckers and in rural America, now is widely indulged in suburbs 
and cities. Health experts Tuesday called it the crack of the 21st century.

"We have to identify people now," Nassau County Health Commissioner Dr. 
David Ackman said Tuesday during a news briefing at his Mineola offices. He 
said lack of money is hampering efforts to effectively cope with the virus.

There is virtually no funding for case control, surveillance or education, 
the key areas through which public health systems curtail infectious 
diseases. Government funding, Ackman underscored, would be required to run 
the costly programs.

Figures for 2004 show there were 4,364 cases of chronic hepatitis C in 
Nassau, but the number could be substantially higher, Ackman added, because 
of the infection's long latency, which can run a decade or more. A chronic 
case refers to one in which the virus already has triggered symptoms: 
jaundice, fatigue, generalized itching, nausea, vomiting and clay-colored 
stools.

Chronic hepatitis C causes deadly liver inflammation, that without a 
transplant can lead to death. Unlike hepatitis A or B, there is no vaccine. 
There are treatments for controlling hepatitis C.

Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Brian Harper estimated the number of 
cases was even higher in his jurisdiction, where more than 7,000 cases of 
chronic hepatitis have been identified since 2001. He estimated cases are 
being reported at a rate of 200 per week.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) Tuesday proposed sweeping federal legislation 
during the news briefing, calling for a new Liver Research Advisory Board 
within the National Institutes of Health.

"We have a crisis brewing here ... and what we want to avoid is another 
HIV-AIDS ," Schumer said. "We are seeing the same early signs."

Schumer also called for vaccine development and a nationwide education 
program. He said a bipartisan coalition of federal legislators has proposed 
the Hepatitis Control and Prevention Act to stop a widespread epidemic 
before it starts. An estimated 2.7 million people are infected nationwide.

Ackman said the newly recognized wave of infections is more prevalent in 
men because of the link to drug abuse. He and other experts Tuesday noted 
that hepatitis C, like some other blood-borne viruses, can be sexually 
transmitted. Additional routes of infection include shared intravenous 
needles and intranasal straws used to snort drugs. 
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