The Greater Manchester town that has managed to 'eliminate' a dangerous infectious disease
manchestereveningnews.co.ukA Greater Manchester borough has ‘eliminated’ a dangerous infectious disease within the people most at risk of catching hepatitis C.
Hepatitis C is a blood borne virus which can affect the liver. Symptoms can range in severity, but if left untreated it can cause the liver to stop working properly and result in serious liver damage, including liver cancer.
It often has no symptoms and can be passed from person to person via exposure to infected blood. People can be vulnerable to hep C if they have had unprotected sex, used unsterile equipment for tattoos, accessed medical or dental treatment abroad in unsterile conditions, or if they have had blood transfusion prior to 1996.
But one of the main ways hepatitis C is spread is by sharing drug-using paraphernalia like injecting equipment and needles - meaning people who use addiction services are often at most risk of infection. READ MORE: Seven years after the devastating fire that tore a family apart they might finally get answers Testing and treatments have improved a lot over the years, and most people with hepatitis C can be cured with few or no side effects.
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