The Society for the Involvement of Good Neighbors (SIGN) outreach program hosted a barbeque to celebrate World Hepatitis Day on July 27 in the parking lot of the Yorkton Co-op Gas Bar in Kamsack.
July 28, World Hepatitis Day, is an international event focused on raising awareness about viral hepatitis and influencing real change in disease prevention and access to testing and treatment.
“We were happy to lend the Co-op Gas Bar location to help the group host their awareness function,” said Amber Severson, Gas Bar manager.
Candice Nelson of the Society for the Involvement of Good Neighbors (SIGN) outreach program which has an office in the Saskatchewan Health Authority (former Sunrise Health) building on Queen Elizabeth Boulevard East, hosted the event along with Deanna Bartok, Glenna Stringer, Cassandra Whalley and Santana Cote.
“Hepatitis is a virus that affects the liver. Your liver preforms over 500 functions; you cannot live without it,” said information in a release. ”Unless detected and treated hepatitis can cause liver disease, cirrhosis and liver cancer.
“You can live with hepatitis C for 20 to 30 years or more without feeling sick even though the virus is injuring the liver. Over time, the injury to the liver gets worse, making it hard for this organ to work properly.”
New guidelines, published in 2018, recommend that ALL Canadians born between 1945 and 1975 be offered a hepatitis C test, helping to reach the 44 per cent of Canadians with hepatitis C who are undiagnosed.
Today, about 500 million people worldwide, one in 12, are living with chronic viral hepatitis B or hepatitis C. In Canada, an estimated 600,000 people have viral hepatitis, with many unaware of their status.
Hepatitis A and B have vaccinations to help prevent transmission. Hepatitis C does not have a vaccination, it said.
About one in four people clear hepatitis C without treatment, but most people need treatment to cure hepatitis C. Newer treatments now available in Canada are much more effective than older hepatitis C drugs. They are also easier to take, have fewer side effects and are taken for a shorter time.
“The only way to know if you have any form of Hepatitis is to be tested. Testing is free and easy. Talk to your Doctor, nurse practitioner or public health for more information,” the release said.
