http://www.thecalif ornian.com/ article/20090630 /NEWS01/90630030 4

Hepatitis C, chlamydia increase in Monterey County
Deputy health officer says new data collection partially led to rise in case of
liver disease
By Leslie Griffy • lgriffy@thecaliforn ian.com • June 30, 2009

Hepatitis C infections increased by 27 percent, and chlamydia cases jumped 18
percent in Monterey County last year, according to a report released Monday by
the Health Department.

In 2008, there were 989 reported cases of hepatitis C in the county, up from 777
in 2007.
The increase in the blood-borne virus that attacks the liver is partially
because of changes in the way it is reported, said Dr. Lisa Hernandez, deputy
health officer.
Now, when laboratories spot a positive case, they report it to health officials.
Before the 2008 change, epidemiologists relied on doctors to report the disease.
Health officials have long strived for a better accounting of the virus. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there were 17,000 new
infections in 2007, but only 849 cases of people sickened by the virus were
confirmed that year.
"We are starting to see the true burden of the disease," Hernandez said.
The hepatitis C virus causes cirrhosis and liver cancer. It's spread through
blood, including needle sharing. Often, infected people aren't symptomatic and
don't know they have the disease. But they can give it to others.
Hepatitis C today reminds Jim Smith, director of education and prevention at
John XXIII AIDS Ministries, of AIDS in the 1980s.
"There's not enough education. There's not enough hepatitis C testing. There's
not enough treatment," Smith said. "That's where hep. C is today."
Working with the county, the ministries will begin offering hepatitis screening
to high-risk groups this summer, he said. Even though some of those tested may
not have access to medical care, Smith believes the testing can slow the virus'
spread.
"The knowledge that they are positive could stop them from sharing syringes," he
said.


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