Hepatitis C: Baby Boomers

Did you know that hepatitis C is 10 times more infectious than HIV/AIDS? This serious, silent, and often deadly disease affects 1 in 12 people worldwide, and almost 600,000 Canadians with many unaware that they are infected. In Canada, baby boomers are much more likely to be infected with hepatitis C than other age groups as a result of medical procedures, such as blood transfusions, or dental work performed before universal infection control measures became the norm. Hepatitis C is also more common among immigrants due to high prevalence of incidences in their country of origin. Street youth and marginalized persons such as injection drug users and prison inmates are also at greater risk of contracting hepatitis C. Although hepatitis can result in liver failure, cirrhosis and cancer, it can be cured if treated early. We promote the message "Know Your Status -- Get Tested" in order to encourage people to get tested for hepatitis C, as these disease can be successfully treated if diagnosed early.