GI Society releases video to spread awareness about hepatitis C

Baby boomers need to be tested

As many as 350,000 Canadians could be suffering with hepatitis C, many of whom are unaware that they are infected, thus continuing to spread the virus. Although there is a vaccine to prevent the spread of the hepatitis A and hepatitis B viruses, there is no vaccine for hepatitis C. The good news is that with new treatments, hepatitis C is now a curable disease.

Many Canadians with hepatitis C do not have any symptoms but, for those who do, symptoms are generally nonspecific, such as mild fatigue or discomfort in the abdomen. However, delaying treatment can actually make things worse; the infected individual may feel mostly fine, but the virus is causing inflammation, which slowly wreaks havoc on the liver, eventually leading to cirrhosis, severe symptoms, and even liver cancer.

"It's very important that individuals with risk factors get tested for the hepatitis C virus," says Dr. James Gray, Chair of the Gastrointestinal Society and Canadian Society of Intestinal Research Medical Advisory Council, and Gastrointestinal Society co-founder, "ideally, we can put an end to the spread of hepatitis C by diagnosing, treating, and curing those who have the disease."

The GI Society has just released a video about hepatitis C to spread awareness and educate Canadians on the risk factors for this disease. The fast-paced, whiteboard-style animation also includes information on diagnosis, testing, treatment, management, symptoms, and more, so you can do your part to help stop the spread of this disease. Watch the video online in English at www.badgut.org and in French at www.mauxdeventre.org. Dr. Gray narrates this animation in English and Jean Bruyère narrates in French.

Gail Attara, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of the Gastrointestinal Society, who produced the video, said, "We are grateful for the medical support of Dr. James R. Gray, Gastroenterologist and Clinical Professor, University of British Columbia, and Dr. Ed Tam, Hepatologist, of the Liver and Intestinal Research (LAIR) Centre. We are also very appreciative of the generous educational grants provided to us by AbbVie Corporation and Janssen Inc. that allowed us to produce this independent video."

Visit www.badgut.org, watch, and share this video (http://ow.ly/ICVF4); it could help save someone's life.