C Change - Curing hep C brochure

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What is hepatitis C?

Hepatitis C (also called hep C) is inflammation of the liver caused by infection with the hepatitis C virus.

The hepatitis C virus was identified and named in 1989. Before then, it was called “non-A, non-B hepatitis”, or “transfusion hepatitis”. Many thousands of Australians have hep C.

Hepatitis C is a liver infection that can be treated and cured easily.

Tests for hep C

There are two different blood tests used to see if you have hep C.

Hep C symptoms

When you first got hep C there were probably no signs of illness.

If you have had hep C for several years, you might have some of the symptoms below:

poor appetite a dry mouth flu like symptoms feeling tired mood swings muscle ache not thinking clearly generally unwell or you may have no symptoms at all.

ANTIBODY NEGATIVE MEANS YOU HAVE NEVER HAD HEP C

PCR

ANTIBODY POSITIVE MEANS YOU HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH HEP C AT SOME TIME IN YOUR LIFE

Hep C can lead to very serious liver disease if left untreated.

The good news is that hep C can be cured very easily. Talk to your doctor about cures for hep C.

How do you get hep C?

THE PCR TEST (ALSO CALLED HCV RNA TEST) SHOWS IF THE VIRUS IS IN YOUR BLOOD OR NOT. ONLY THE PCR TEST CAN TELL YOU IF YOU HAVE HEP C NOW, OR HAVE NATURALLY CLEARED IT, OR YOU HAVE BEEN TREATED AND CURED.

You get hep C from blood-to-blood contact. The blood from someone with hep C has to get into your blood.

Most people got hep C by sharing injecting equipment.

Other ways of getting hep C are: backyard and prison tattooing or piercing from mother to baby, if the mum had hep C when she was pregnant unsterile vaccinations, operations or dental work overseas

blood transfusions in Australia, before 1990.

Hep C is not a sexually transmitted infection (STI). However, men who have sex with men who have hep C, are at risk of getting hep C.

AbTHE ANTIBODY TEST IS A SCREENING TEST WHICH SHOWS IF YOU HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO HEP C AT SOME TIME IN YOUR LIFE.
ANTIBODY
GET TREATED SPEAK TO YOUR DOCTOR, NURSE OR CLINIC ABOUT STARTING TREATMENT AND CURE
PCR POSITIVE MEANS THAT YOU HAVE HEP C
PCR NEGATIVE MEANS THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE HEP C NOW
NO MORE TESTS NEEDED
YOU NEED TO GET A PCR TEST TO FIND OUT IF YOU HAVE HEP C NOW
NO MORE TESTS NEEDED

Hep C cure is easy

New cures have been available since March 2016. The treatments...

give you a 95% or higher chance of cure (even if you have cirrhosis) have minimal side-effects last for just 8 or 12 weeks (in most cases) just pills taken each day (no injections) are very low cost with a Medicare number. Clearing hep C reduces liver inflammation and can help reverse fibrosis and even cirrhosis.

Once you are cured, the virus is cleared from your body, and it means you can’t pass the virus on to someone else. You can get hep C again, so if you are at risk make sure you get tested and treated again.

Eliminating hep C

Lots of people have now been cured but many others are still living with hep C: you might have previously shared injecting equipment and know you have hep C but don’t know about the new cures or you haven’t had the test and don’t know you have hep C.

There are lots of reasons you should ask about the new cures: staying active and healthy feeling better having the energy to do more living longer after being cured, you cannot pass hep C on to others.

For more information

Speak to a doctor about treatment. Our website has a listing of doctors who provide treatmentsearch our ‘NSW Local Services Directory’ for doctors near you.

Curing hep C

$100

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C CHANGE
Hepatitis NSW is a non-profit health promotion charity funded by the NSW Ministry of Health. HNSW is proud to acknowledge Aboriginal people as the traditional owners and custodians of our lands and waters. Printed June 2023
All images by Exposition by RAF
It might be more than just tiredness and getting older Speak to your doctor about the hep C cures. Cure is easy. www.hep.org.au 1800 803 990 FREE CALL FROM LANDLINES Interpreter service available INFO, SUPPORT, REFERRAL CONFIDENTIAL

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