Efforts being made to eliminate a silent killer

By Theodora MacLeod - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on August 1, 2023.

July 28 marked World Hepatitis Day and the call to action to eliminate the viral infection, a goal the World Health Organization hopes to reach by the year 2030.

In 2020, there were a reported 320 cases of hepatitis B (HVB) and 601 cases of hepatitis C (HVC) in Alberta, though officials with the grassroots organization Alberta Hepatitis Elimination Network (AHEN) say those numbers are most likely an underestimation given the asymptomatic nature of the virus.

“A person can be infected for decades without showing any symptoms or knowing they have the virus,” says Alexa Thompson, a PhD candidate at the University of Alberta and founder of AHEN.

A recently published report by Action Hepatitis Canada reveals that while an immunization rate of 90 per cent of children is needed to eliminate HBV, only 86 per cent of Canadian children are currently vaccinated. While HVC can be cured with oral medication, there is no known cure for HBV and prevention is the only approach to elimination. Unlike HVB, there is no immunization for HCV.

Both variants of the virus can be transmitted through the sharing of drug use equipment and with the ongoing opioid crisis, University of Calgary PhD candidate and fellow with the Canadian Network on Hepatitis C, Simmone D’Souza, says there are added challenges to the efforts to eliminate the virus in Alberta.

Mercedes Russell of Kainai Nation uses her own experience with addiction and contracting hepatitis C to help others in her community and inform her work in the addictions and recovery field.

Now five years sober, she considers her diagnosis with the virus to be a turning point in her life.

“One day I overdosed and was taken to a detox centre, it was there that I was tested for hepatitis C and connected to supports that helped me to change my life,” she says.

The virus, which is often called a “silent killer” targets the liver and if left undiagnosed and untreated can lead to liver cancer.

Many of those who have contracted the illness do not experience symptoms until liver damage has already occurred. Populations who are a priority for elimination efforts include newcomers to Canada, people born between 1945 and 1975, men who have sex with other men, people who are incarcerated, people who use drugs, individuals who are pregnant, and Indigenous people. However, it is important to note than anyone can contract hepatitis through blood-to-blood contact.

Russell says it is vital that awareness of the virus is increased, especially in populations who are more vulnerable to contracting and that the stigma needs to be eliminated as well. “I want to help people realize that you can get better, and it is curable, that it’s not the end of the world. I had it too. And you don’t have to be ashamed.”