- October 31, 2024
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With hepatitis rates rising throughout the state, the Florida Department of Health is offering free hepatitis screenings this July, according to a news release from the Florida Department of Health in Flagler County.
An estimated 3.5 to 5.3 million Americans have chronic viral hepatitis — hepatitis B or hepatitis C — and most don't know they have disease, which can only be detected with a blood test, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
That leaves them at an increased risk of severe, potentially fatal complications including cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer, according to the news release.
Baby boomers make up 75% of hepatitis C cases. Blood wasn't screened for it before 1992, and many were likely infected when the disease was at its height during the 70s and 80s, according to the news release.
The health department is encouraging residents born between 1945 and 1965, as well as people who have ever injected or snorted recreational drugs, to get screened.
“Over the last decade, we’ve witnessed miraculous developments in terms of new and highly effective medications for hepatitis C," Florida Department of Health in Flagler County Medical Director Dr. Stephen Bickel said. "The cure rate is much higher these days, and efforts have been made to reduce barriers for getting treatment, like exorbitant cost. Our health department is committed to bringing these curative treatments to as many patients as possible regardless of their ability to pay.”
To schedule a free screening at the Department of Health in Flagler County at 301 Dr. Carter Blvd. in Bunnell, call 386-437-7350 ext. 7091.
For more information about hepatitis, visit http://flagler.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/infectious-disease-services/hepatitis-education.html.
