Solano County Public Health now offers rapid Hepatitis C testing at its HIV clinic in Vallejo, 365 Tuolumne St. The test is confidential and free to anyone at risk for infection. Results are available in 20-40 minutes.
Approximately 75 percent of people infected with Hepatitis C do not know they have it because there are often no symptoms for several years according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There is no vaccine for Hepatitis C, but treatment is available.
"The sooner you know your Hepatitis C status, the sooner you can get treatment and protect your partners from infection," said Cara Drake, Solano County senior health education specialist. "The rapid test is a convenient way for people to learn their status because they don't have to wait for weeks for the test result. Get the facts and get tested."
Hepatitis C is a virus that affects the liver and can cause serious health problems including liver damage, cirrhosis, liver cancer and even death. Hepatitis C is most commonly passed from person to person through infected blood. Currently, most people become infected with Hepatitis C by sharing needles and other injection drug equipment.
People at risk for Hepatitis C include:
• Former and current injection drug users;
• People who have received tattoos or body piercings with non-sterile instruments;
• Recipients of donated blood, blood products, or organs prior to 1992; and
• People infected with HIV.
Testing is available on a drop-in basis from 5-7 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at the Solano County Family Health Services Clinic, 365 Tuolumne St., Vallejo. For more information, call 553-5552. The new Hepatitis C testing program in the clinic is funded by the California Office of AIDS.