Incidents of the disease, a major cause of cirrhosis of the liver, remain underdiagnosed, undertreated say medical experts.
Karen Robson says it is only because of her family physician’s thoroughness that she found out she had Hepatitis C.
The Toronto woman went to see him in January because of some menstrual problems. In ticking off the various blood tests he wanted her to get on a lab requisition form, he included a screening for Hepatitis C.
In an analysis published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, several liver specialists argue that everyone born between the years 1945 and 1975 should be screened for the potentially liver-destroying disease.
Many are unaware they are infected, they say.
That includes people like Robson.
She was stunned to learn two weeks after a sample of her blood was drawn that she tested positive.
She had no symptoms. The 40-year-old sociology professor doesn’t fit the profile of groups at risk of getting the viral infection. She’s not an injection drug user and has never received tainted blood through a transfusion.
Like up to 40 per cent of those with the virus, Robson has no idea how or when she was infected.
“If it could happen to me, it can happen to anybody. I have a low-risk lifestyle,” Robson says.
The blood-borne infection can also be spread by sharing sharp instruments and personal hygiene tools, including razors, toothbrushes, scissors and nail clippers.
Robson was fortunate. A subsequent ultrasound of her liver showed no damage. And while she does have the antibody, her viral load is extremely low.
