Hispanics and Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C, often called the silent killer because it can remain symptomless for years, is hitting Colorado's Latino communities in disproportionate numbers.

Up to 30 percent of the 77,000 people in Colorado known to be infected with the Hepatitis C virus are Hispanic, while only about 17 percent of the state's total population of 4.3 million is Hispanic, according to 2000 census figures.

Nationwide, more than 300,000 Latinos have chronic Hepatitis C. The disease also seems to advance faster in Hispanics due to several factors, including socio-economic reasons.

The Latino American Research and Service Agency, a non-profit organization that focuses on improving the health, education and self-sufficiency of Colorado's Latinos, says the disparity might be due to a lack of information in Spanish about the disease. Non-English speakers also face obstacles in obtaining and paying for health care. Many are unaware that they can get financial help to pay for treatment. (For more information about Hepatitis C screening and financial assistance, call 1-800-522-HEPC.)

There is no cure for Hepatitis C. It can, however, be treated with medication. But it has to be detected first.

We strongly support the efforts of LARASA and the medical community to alert people of the dangers of untreated Hepatitis C, which kills about 12,000 people nationwide each year.

Hepatitis C also is a leading cause of liver disease and accounts for the majority of patients referred for liver transplants. The virus also is responsible for growing numbers of primary liver cancer.

It typically is transmitted through blood-to-blood contact. Those receiving tainted transfusions before 1992 could be at risk, as well as infected mothers who can give the disease to their newborns. Those who share intravenous needles or have multiple sexual partners are at greater risk.

LARASA is working with the Hep C Connection and St. Anthony Central Hospital to raise awareness of Hepatitis C in the Latino community. The campaign kicks off today at 11:30 a.m. on the sixth floor of the Tivoli on the Auraria campus with a presentation by Dr. Marcelo Kugelmas, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and an expert in liver disease. More meetings will follow in the coming months.

While people tend to be more familiar with Hepatitis A and B, the Latino community's need for better information and access to health care make it more vulnerable to Hepatitis C. In addition, Colorado's Hispanic population is younger than its other ethnic groups. That's why education efforts must be pursued aggressively now - because the only alternative is an increasingly devastating toll on families.