Stony Brook's Liver Disease Clinic for Treating Hepatitis C Treatment
Liver disease caused by hepatitis C is on the rise, and the physicians at Stony Brook University Hospital are using state-of-the-art therapies to treat and cure the growing number of people who have hepatitis C.
Hepatitis C is the most common blood-borne virus in the United States, currently affecting over three million people. Approximately 150,00 people in New York State — possibly 20,000 people in Suffolk Country alone — are living with chronic hepatitis C.
To make the situation more critical, the nation, including Suffolk County, is currently experiencing a high incidence of injection drug usage — especially heroin. We're seeing an increased number of people acquiring acute hepatitis C, which for many will develop into chronic disease.
Hepatitis C most prevalent among baby boomers
Seventy-five percent of people with hepatitis C are baby boomers, people born between 1945 and 1965. Because people can carry the virus for many years without feeling sick, most who have it don't know they do. So they could be experiencing liver damage for decades with few or no symptoms. Many people don’t even get diagnosed until they’re in liver failure.
The hepatitis C virus spreads through blood. So people who received blood transfusions or organ transplants before 1992, when a way to test the blood was developed, may have contracted the virus that way. Or people who received blood to treat clotting problems before 1987 may be at risk. For many baby boomers, exposure could have occurred when they shared needles while experimenting with injectable drugs in the 60s and 70s.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 75 to 80 percent of people who have been exposed to the virus will develop chronic hepatitis, and 70 percent of those will get active liver disease. Eventually, many people with active liver disease will develop cirrhosis of the liver and some will go on to get liver cancer.
Everyone should get tested for hepatitis C
Because the virus is so prevalent, and you can have it and be experiencing liver damage for decades without feeling sick, getting tested is crucial.
Two years ago the CDC recommended that everyone born between 1945 and 1965 get tested for hepatitis C. In New York State, it is now mandatory that physicians offer a screening test to every "baby boomer" patient. The screening test is a one-time blood test. If the results are positive, your doctor will order a viral load study. If testing determines that you have hepatitis C, it’s important to seek treatment.
For more information about the Liver Disease Clinic, call (631) 444-5220.