Hepatitis

If you have lived a relatively clean life, you might think the odds of your suffering from hepatitis C might be as small as the odds of winning a lottery, but a study released last week indicates that just being a baby boomer is a risk factor. This is a lottery you wouldn’t want to

Most baby boomers infected in hospital and by reused medical syringes, not injecting drug use or risky sex The spread of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in North America peaked between 1940 and 1965, according to research published in Lancet Infectious Diseases. The investigators attribute the rapid spread of the infection to hospital transmissions and reuse

Every baby boomer in B.C. and across Canada should seek a blood test for the hepatitis C virus in light of a landmark medical study released Thursday, urges one of B.C.’s foremost experts in disease prevention. That’s because the peak infection rate for people born between 1945 and 1964 has been found to coincide with

Peak of hep C infection epidemic actually occurred in 1950, not 1965 as previously thought A new study, worked on by B.C. researchers, says baby boomers living a sex and drug lifestyle in the 1960s aren’t to blame for hepatitis C infections in their demographic. In fact, the research suggests all baby boomers should be

Hepatitis C has infected over 300,000 Canadians, and 75 percent of them consist of people belonging to the generation born between 1946 and 1964, also known as “baby boomers.” For the longest time, it has been widely believed that the deadly disease was acquired by baby boomers in their late teens or early twenties, and

But B.C. health minister says that would cost billions Could hepatitis C be the next communicable disease to come under a targeted attack in B.C.? It will be if HIV/AIDS expert Dr. Julio Montaner has his way. Montaner said Tuesday that even if the virus is eradicated among baby boomers, that won’t stop its continued

Merck & Co on Wednesday said U.S. regulators intend to rescind the “breakthrough therapy” designation for its combination treatment for hepatitis C because other new drugs are available, a decision that could delay approval of the Merck product by several months. The Food and Drug Administration gives the designation to medicines it deems likely to