Cases Hepatitis C are on the rise in the north country and across the United States.
Hepatitis C is contracted most commonly through drug use.
Infectious Disease Doctor Marylene Duah at Samaritan Medical Center said someone can have the disease for decades before ever showing any symptoms.
"I see patients who tell me they used in the 1970s, and they sometimes don't even know why they got tested, and why suddenly they have a diagnosis of hepatitis C and they feel perfectly fine," Dr. Muah said.
The number of patients diagnosed with Hepititis C is going up across the country.
That's why Jefferson County Public Health is offering a free testing clinic on August 11 from 12:30pm to 3:30pm.
Health Officials said one generation is at a higher risk than others to have been living with the disease.
Steve Jennings, Jefferson County Public Health Planner & Information Officer said, "There's a huge concentration on the baby boomer population, people born between 1945 and 1965. That was an era where there was active drug use, increased risky sexual behavior."
On top of that, anyone who received a blood transfusion before 1992 is at risk as well.
It can take years before Hepatitis C becomes deadly, but if left untreated it can lead to cirrhosis of the liver, and eventually even liver cancer.
The good news is that, when diagnosed early, the disease is highly treatable.
"12 weeks, 95% cured, very minimal side effects. Excellent drugs," Dr. Duah said.
Testing clinics are effective ways of diagnosing people because they are more anonymous than a hospital, and they're great for getting people without a doctor in contact with one.
Hepatitis C is contracted most commonly through drug use.
Infectious Disease Doctor Marylene Duah at Samaritan Medical Center said someone can have the disease for decades before ever showing any symptoms.
"I see patients who tell me they used in the 1970s, and they sometimes don't even know why they got tested, and why suddenly they have a diagnosis of hepatitis C and they feel perfectly fine," Dr. Muah said.
The number of patients diagnosed with Hepititis C is going up across the country.
That's why Jefferson County Public Health is offering a free testing clinic on August 11 from 12:30pm to 3:30pm.
Health Officials said one generation is at a higher risk than others to have been living with the disease.
Steve Jennings, Jefferson County Public Health Planner & Information Officer said, "There's a huge concentration on the baby boomer population, people born between 1945 and 1965. That was an era where there was active drug use, increased risky sexual behavior."
On top of that, anyone who received a blood transfusion before 1992 is at risk as well.
It can take years before Hepatitis C becomes deadly, but if left untreated it can lead to cirrhosis of the liver, and eventually even liver cancer.
The good news is that, when diagnosed early, the disease is highly treatable.
"12 weeks, 95% cured, very minimal side effects. Excellent drugs," Dr. Duah said.
Testing clinics are effective ways of diagnosing people because they are more anonymous than a hospital, and they're great for getting people without a doctor in contact with one.
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