Guest guest Posted January 1, 2004 Report Share Posted January 1, 2004 Hello, I would like to learn how long the HepC virus live outside the body? Thanks ------------------------------------------------------------ Yrd. Doc. Dr. Aylin Kantarci Ege Uni. Bilgisayar Muhendisligi Bolumu (Computer Engineering Dept.) 35100 Bornova Izmir, Turkiye Tel: (232) 388 72 21 (219) ----- Doctors warn of death toll from 'silent epidemic' of hepatitis C > From: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health/story.jsp?story=477285 > The Indenpendent/UK > > Doctors warn of death toll from 'silent epidemic' of hepatitis C > By nce Health Editor > > 01 January 2004 > > Hospital specialists criticised the Government yesterday for failing > to act to curb the spread of hepatitis C, a lethal blood-borne virus. > > The silent epidemic of hepatitis C is officially estimated to have > infected 200,000 people in the UK - four times as many as HIV - and > more than 100 people are being infected each week. > > It is already the main reason for liver transplants and is predicted > to be killing more people than Aids by 2020, yet only a quarter of > victims know they are infected and just 1 per cent are receiving treatment. > > The seriousness of the threat was recognised by the Department of > Health when it published a strategy for dealing with the epidemic 18 > months ago and promised an action plan by the end of 2002. But a > year later nothing has been done. > > Graham , professor of hepatology at the Royal London Hospital, > said: " There is much disappointment at the lack of an action plan. > Absolutely nothing is happening. " > > A new study, to be published shortly, will show a dramatic increase > in the number of new infections, Professor said. Last month, > the Health Protection Agency revealed that 5,901 cases of hepatitis > C infection were diagnosed in 2002, compared with fewer than 1,000 > in 1994. > > " The figures are horrifying. Over the next 10 to 15 years liver > disease and cancer rates will soar. The Government is talking the > talk but it is doing nothing else, " Professor said. > > The outlook for sufferers has been transformed in the past decade as > new drug cocktails have increased the proportion of patients who can > be cured to 60 per cent. Other countries have established programmes > to identify and treat patients. France treats 15,000 patients a year > compared with 2,000 a year in Britain. > > " In the UK we are just discussing it and hoping it will go away, " > Professor said. > > Most victims are unaware they are infected, but up to 30 per cent > will suffer severe symptoms caused by chronic inflammation of the > liver including cirrhosis, liver cancer and death over two to three decades. > > Irving, professor of virology at Nottingham University, said > Britain was one of the few countries with a policy on hepatitis C. > > " But it is disappointing we haven't seen an implementation plan or > any funding for an implementation plan. There are a lot of people > out there with hepatitis C and there is a window of opportunity to > treat them now before they develop liver disease. " > > One reason for neglect of the disease is thought to be its " low- > life " association with intravenous drug use - it is spread by shared > needles. > > But increasingly it is also being spread by " social " drug use such > as snorting cocaine. Straws used to snort cocaine are often passed > around and may become contaminated by blood from the nasal > epithelium caused by the corrosive, alkaline nature of the drug. > > The virus can also be spread through sex, though this is rare, and > through skin piercing, tattooing and shared use of razor blades and > toothbrushes. It is 10 times more infectious via blood-to-blood > contact than HIV, but less infectious than HIV via sexual contact. > > Many victims became infected through experimenting with injecting > drugs decades ago and now lead stable lives with families and jobs. > Others were infected through blood transfusions. > > The virus was identified in 1989 but screening of blood was not > introduced until 1991, and many sufferers do not know how they > became infected. > > Gore, chief executive of the Hepatitis C Trust, said: " There > was a lot of experimentation with intravenous drug use at the end of > the Seventies and early Eighties - far more than most people think. > There was a huge influx of heroin after the Iranian revolution in > 1979 and experimentation involves someone showing you how to do it > and using their syringe. Now those people are starting to come > through with chronic liver disease. > > " The Government is dragging its feet on this - there is a lack of > political will and a fear of the cost implications. " > > A treatment based on interferon can eliminate hepatitis C from the > body, and a new slow-release version was recommended by the National > Institute for Clinical Excellence last month. But the virus is > symptomless in its early stages, meaning efforts have to be made to > test and identify those infected. There is also a shortage of > trained nurses able to give the treatment which lasts up to a year. > > A spokeswoman for the health department said: " The hepatitis C > action plan will be published in due course. " > > 31 December 2003 18:24 > > ---------------------- > > Virus sufferer is forced to wait three years for treatment > By nce Health Editor > > 01 January 2004 > > In the three years since Binge was diagnosed with hepatitis C, > she has seen a doctor once, a nurse twice and had an ultrasound > test but she is still waiting for treatment. > > The 57-year-old former hotelier has been married for 30 years, never > dabbled in drugs, and suspects she became infected through a blood > transfusion in the early 1980s. She is angry at the lack of urgency > shown by the NHS to people in her predicament. > > " It is very distressing because I feel I have a death sentence > hanging over me, " she says. " Although there are drugs that can treat > hepatitis C I am denied them. You can have cirrhosis, liver cancer > and liver failure and no one is doing anything. " > > After being diagnosed in 2000, Mrs Binge moved from Bath to Sussex > where she was referred to a liver specialist only after " constant pestering " . > > Her appointment has been cancelled twice and she has not yet seen > him. A week before Christmas she received a letter telling her that > the kind of hepatitis C she had - genotype 1B - was one of the > hardest to treat. " To say I am upset is to put it mildly, " she says. > " I was going to call my MP. The Government is burying its head in > the sand. A lot of people don't know they have got it and because no > one makes a fuss no one is doing anything. It's a shocking neglect > of the nation's health.This is a very nasty illness. " > > Mrs Binge, who serves as a councillor on Mid-Sussex District Council > and once stood as a Tory parliamentary candidate, has been told that > after treatment starts with a cocktail of drugs she will need an > injection once a week and pills each day for a year. The cost of the > drugs is about £7,000. " What are they waiting for? " she asks. > " Perhaps if I die they can save money and won't have to treat me. " > > Although her marital status was known to the NHS, she had never been > given any advice about how to prevent her husband, Rod, 59, a > financial adviser, becoming infected. > > " We never had any advice about protective sex even though the virus > can be passed on that way, " she adds. " I am anxious now to do > anything I can to get this issue more widely known. " > > More information on hepatitis C can be found at www.hepcuk.info. > > It's a pleasure having you join in our conversations. We hope you > have found the support you need with us. > > If you are using email for your posts, for easy access to our group, > just click the link-- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hepatitis_C_Central/ > > Happy Posting > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2004 Report Share Posted January 4, 2004 The virus can live 7-10 days outside the body. That's why it's so much more dangerous than HIV. HIV dies quickly outside the human host. > Hello, > > I would like to learn how long the HepC virus live outside the body? > > Thanks > > > ------------------------------------------------------------ > Yrd. Doc. Dr. Aylin Kantarci > Ege Uni. > Bilgisayar Muhendisligi Bolumu > (Computer Engineering Dept.) > 35100 Bornova > Izmir, Turkiye > Tel: (232) 388 72 21 (219) > > > > > ----- Doctors warn of death toll from 'silent > epidemic' of hepatitis C > > > From: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health/story.jsp? story=477285 > > The Indenpendent/UK > > > > Doctors warn of death toll from 'silent epidemic' of hepatitis C > > By nce Health Editor > > > > 01 January 2004 > > > > Hospital specialists criticised the Government yesterday for failing > > to act to curb the spread of hepatitis C, a lethal blood-borne virus. > > > > The silent epidemic of hepatitis C is officially estimated to have > > infected 200,000 people in the UK - four times as many as HIV - and > > more than 100 people are being infected each week. > > > > It is already the main reason for liver transplants and is predicted > > to be killing more people than Aids by 2020, yet only a quarter of > > victims know they are infected and just 1 per cent are receiving treatment. > > > > The seriousness of the threat was recognised by the Department of > > Health when it published a strategy for dealing with the epidemic 18 > > months ago and promised an action plan by the end of 2002. But a > > year later nothing has been done. > > > > Graham , professor of hepatology at the Royal London Hospital, > > said: " There is much disappointment at the lack of an action plan. > > Absolutely nothing is happening. " > > > > A new study, to be published shortly, will show a dramatic increase > > in the number of new infections, Professor said. Last month, > > the Health Protection Agency revealed that 5,901 cases of hepatitis > > C infection were diagnosed in 2002, compared with fewer than 1,000 > > in 1994. > > > > " The figures are horrifying. Over the next 10 to 15 years liver > > disease and cancer rates will soar. The Government is talking the > > talk but it is doing nothing else, " Professor said. > > > > The outlook for sufferers has been transformed in the past decade as > > new drug cocktails have increased the proportion of patients who can > > be cured to 60 per cent. Other countries have established programmes > > to identify and treat patients. France treats 15,000 patients a year > > compared with 2,000 a year in Britain. > > > > " In the UK we are just discussing it and hoping it will go away, " > > Professor said. > > > > Most victims are unaware they are infected, but up to 30 per cent > > will suffer severe symptoms caused by chronic inflammation of the > > liver including cirrhosis, liver cancer and death over two to three > decades. > > > > Irving, professor of virology at Nottingham University, said > > Britain was one of the few countries with a policy on hepatitis C. > > > > " But it is disappointing we haven't seen an implementation plan or > > any funding for an implementation plan. There are a lot of people > > out there with hepatitis C and there is a window of opportunity to > > treat them now before they develop liver disease. " > > > > One reason for neglect of the disease is thought to be its " low- > > life " association with intravenous drug use - it is spread by shared > > needles. > > > > But increasingly it is also being spread by " social " drug use such > > as snorting cocaine. Straws used to snort cocaine are often passed > > around and may become contaminated by blood from the nasal > > epithelium caused by the corrosive, alkaline nature of the drug. > > > > The virus can also be spread through sex, though this is rare, and > > through skin piercing, tattooing and shared use of razor blades and > > toothbrushes. It is 10 times more infectious via blood-to-blood > > contact than HIV, but less infectious than HIV via sexual contact. > > > > Many victims became infected through experimenting with injecting > > drugs decades ago and now lead stable lives with families and jobs. > > Others were infected through blood transfusions. > > > > The virus was identified in 1989 but screening of blood was not > > introduced until 1991, and many sufferers do not know how they > > became infected. > > > > Gore, chief executive of the Hepatitis C Trust, said: " There > > was a lot of experimentation with intravenous drug use at the end of > > the Seventies and early Eighties - far more than most people think. > > There was a huge influx of heroin after the Iranian revolution in > > 1979 and experimentation involves someone showing you how to do it > > and using their syringe. Now those people are starting to come > > through with chronic liver disease. > > > > " The Government is dragging its feet on this - there is a lack of > > political will and a fear of the cost implications. " > > > > A treatment based on interferon can eliminate hepatitis C from the > > body, and a new slow-release version was recommended by the National > > Institute for Clinical Excellence last month. But the virus is > > symptomless in its early stages, meaning efforts have to be made to > > test and identify those infected. There is also a shortage of > > trained nurses able to give the treatment which lasts up to a year. > > > > A spokeswoman for the health department said: " The hepatitis C > > action plan will be published in due course. " > > > > 31 December 2003 18:24 > > > > ---------------------- > > > > Virus sufferer is forced to wait three years for treatment > > By nce Health Editor > > > > 01 January 2004 > > > > In the three years since Binge was diagnosed with hepatitis C, > > she has seen a doctor once, a nurse twice and had an ultrasound > > test but she is still waiting for treatment. > > > > The 57-year-old former hotelier has been married for 30 years, never > > dabbled in drugs, and suspects she became infected through a blood > > transfusion in the early 1980s. She is angry at the lack of urgency > > shown by the NHS to people in her predicament. > > > > " It is very distressing because I feel I have a death sentence > > hanging over me, " she says. " Although there are drugs that can treat > > hepatitis C I am denied them. You can have cirrhosis, liver cancer > > and liver failure and no one is doing anything. " > > > > After being diagnosed in 2000, Mrs Binge moved from Bath to Sussex > > where she was referred to a liver specialist only after " constant > pestering " . > > > > Her appointment has been cancelled twice and she has not yet seen > > him. A week before Christmas she received a letter telling her that > > the kind of hepatitis C she had - genotype 1B - was one of the > > hardest to treat. " To say I am upset is to put it mildly, " she says. > > " I was going to call my MP. The Government is burying its head in > > the sand. A lot of people don't know they have got it and because no > > one makes a fuss no one is doing anything. It's a shocking neglect > > of the nation's health.This is a very nasty illness. " > > > > Mrs Binge, who serves as a councillor on Mid-Sussex District Council > > and once stood as a Tory parliamentary candidate, has been told that > > after treatment starts with a cocktail of drugs she will need an > > injection once a week and pills each day for a year. The cost of the > > drugs is about £7,000. " What are they waiting for? " she asks. > > " Perhaps if I die they can save money and won't have to treat me. " > > > > Although her marital status was known to the NHS, she had never been > > given any advice about how to prevent her husband, Rod, 59, a > > financial adviser, becoming infected. > > > > " We never had any advice about protective sex even though the virus > > can be passed on that way, " she adds. " I am anxious now to do > > anything I can to get this issue more widely known. " > > > > More information on hepatitis C can be found at www.hepcuk.info. > > > > It's a pleasure having you join in our conversations. We hope you > > have found the support you need with us. > > > > If you are using email for your posts, for easy access to our group, > > just click the link-- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hepatitis_C_Central/ > > > > Happy Posting > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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