The U. S Department of Health and Human Services publishes fat books listing human carcinogens. The Hepatitis C Virus “known to be a human carcinogen,” was first listed in the Eleventh Report on Carcinogens in 2004 (pg 216-218).
Public health officials knew and wrote the following:
“Individuals with chronic hepatitis C are the source for all new infections and are at increased risk for chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver cancer.”
Think about it. They knew that millions of people with HCV (aware or unaware) were the source for all new infections, and they choose not to put out public service announcements or use other means to get this critical information out.
Is the CDC educating us now with the new birth cohort testing recommendation? Not really. For example, information on the transmission of the virus is still somewhat fuzzy in the ROC.
“The major route of HCV transmission is through contaminated blood.”
If contaminated blood is the major route, what then are the minor routes? They list sexual, perinatal, familial etc…but are mum on details. We don’t need hints. We need to understand the situation in no-nonsense terms. What else do we need to know about the transmission routes of HCV?
asknod
Bethanie Spangenberg
kcraveiro
robinhoodesqvetsatty
Wesley McCauley
Veterans Claims Help 
Yes we are a walking sickness and disease no doubt. A carcinogen here usually means second hand smoke or lighting your farts after interferon injections. Now I feel lower than a gophers basement. God help us………
That sentence is very stark. I didn’t mean to make anyone feel lousy with this post.
There is just so much we don’t know about HCV–and so much information that is being kept from us.
The CDC is taking it’s cue from Congress who has in the past instructed the VA not to reach out and test Veterans. The risk factors for HCV were (up until now) postulated by our Gov’t to generate the LEAST amount of testing for HCV. We also understand that the Iatrogenic medical risk factors have been missing all along. As designed, this agenda has resulted in the the least amount of money spent on testing and treatment for the disease. The end result of this agenda has been no vaccine or viable cure available to the general public or Veterans. The following is part of the congressional hearing that put the kabosh on VA and Health Dept. recommended testing of Veterans 13 years ago.
The following is quite lenghty and thus not all inclusive and edited:
VA OUTREACH TO VETERANS AT RISK FOR
HEPATITIS C INFECTION
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY,
VETERANS AFFAIRS, AND INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON
GOVERNMENT REFORM
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
JUNE 9, 1999
Serial No. 106–30
Why ask the already burdened VA health system to take a lead
in a national public health effort? Because recent studies confirm
8 to 10 percent of all veterans suffer from HCV, four to five times
the rate of infection in the general population. At one recent VA
screening, more than a third of the veterans tested positive for
HCV antibodies, with almost two-thirds of those having served in
the Vietnam war era.
According to testimony we heard last year from former U.S. Surgeon
General Dr. C. Everett Koop, the VA has a 5-year window to
‘‘head off very high rates of liver disease and liver transplants in
VA facilities over the next decade’’ when those exposed to infected
blood and blood products 20 to 30 years ago will seek care for acute
symptoms, cirrhosis and liver cancer.
“My understanding is that treating hepatitis C is a very expensive
proposition. I ask you a very simple question. If you treat folks with
hepatitis C, what does this mean? Do you have the resources to do it?
If you do it, are you taking money away from other desperately needed
areas? We won’t tell anybody what you said, just between us.
I don’t think there is any great secret that VA hospitals
all over this country are hurting and to take money away
from already underfunded areas to deal with this tragedy, people
are going to be worse off.”
Mr. SHAYS. The testimony so far is that some say 10 percent can
be treated, some 20 and potentially up to 40 percent successfully,
and we still haven’t defined success. We would all agree I am assuming
that everyone has a right to know that they have hepatitis
C, not knowing that it would be a tragedy for them not to know
how and to begin to find ways to deal with it, and certainly not to
spread the disease and so on. My first question is even if we didn’t
think that we could successfully treat someone with hepatitis C, we
do feel that it is important that they know that they have it; is that
correct?
Dr. MITCHELL. That is correct.
Mr. SANDERS. I would just add to what Mr. Weidman says, and
correct me if I’m wrong, if the VA does the right thing and they
reach out to all of the veterans, the 10 percent who are infected are
treated, you must be talking about astronomical numbers that
there is no way on God’s green Earth you can deal with within the
budget.
Mr. Brownstein or Dr. DiBisceglie, is that correct?
Dr. DIBISCEGLIE. That is correct.
Wow. Thanks for posting this. There is absolutely no excuse for not getting the information out and testing everyone for all these years. When my DH was dx with HCV in 2003, we had never even heard of it! He was cleared of the virus; our son and I did not contract it. We consider ourselves very lucky. But there is no immunity so HCV remains a potential threat to every person on the planet.
I had to be transfused a few years ago–5 units of blood–for severe anemia. The hospital could not guarantee, with 100% certainty, that the blood was safe. But I needed it so I accepted it. I get tested for hepatitis and HIV every year.
Quite a few Veterans have said and now I believe that the Government just wants us dead. It’s all about worshipping the almighty buck, in their false god they trust. That way they get out of paying SSD, TDIU and VA monthly compensation. Also, the government does not have to subsidize healthcare for HCV. Now if HCV could become a “billion dollar big business” like cancer, we might be treated with some semblence of respect. Their Jones cool-aid is still poison though.
Holy Moly! First I’m a racist, bigot, homophobe, terrorist, gun totin Bible thumper, redneck, woman hater, and now I’m a carcinogen too. Don’t tell my wife. When she took her vows she only mentioned worse once.
Maybe that should be added to Jeff Foxworthy’s Redneck Dictionary:
“If you think a carcinogen has four barrels and a nitro pack then you might be a redneck”
“You lit a match in the bathroom and your house exploded right off it’s wheels you might be a redneck.”
“Your huntin dawg had a litter of puppies in the living room and nobody noticed you might be a redneck.”
“You and your dog use the same tree then you might be a redneck.”
“You believe dual air bags refer to your wife and mother-in-law then you might be a redenck.”