Free bannock and condoms
Health professionals and community groups educate residents
by Daron Letts
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, July 30, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Government agencies and community organizations teamed up on Monday morning to make Yellowknife residents more aware about hepatitis prevention and treatment as part of World Hepatitis Day, July 28.
Gabrielle Fredette Fortin of the French Federation, left; Audrey Zoe, project organizer with the Healing Drum Society; Bren Kolson, executive director of the society; and Jacqueline DeCoutere, public health nurse with the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority, distribute condoms and information in front of the post office on Franklin Avenue late on Monday morning as Health Minister Glenn Abernethy greets passersby in the background. The awareness campaign was part of World Hepatitis Day, July 28. - Daron Letts/NNSL photo |
Health Minister Glen Abernethy and Andre Corriveau, chief public health officer for the NWT, met with passersby in front of the post office on Franklin Avenue while staff with the French Federation, the Healing Drum Society and the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority distributed literature and answered questions about hepatitis A, B and C - the three most common strains of the disease.
Free condoms and water bottles, as well as bannock and other refreshments, were also available.
"Hepatitis is an invisible disease," said Jacqueline DeCoutere, public health nurse with the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority. "The only way you will know you have it is if you get a blood test."
Public Health, located on the first floor of the Jan Stirling Building on Franklin Avenue, operates a free needle-exchange program and distributes free condoms. People can also make appointments to be tested for hepatitis or to be immunized against type A and B at the clinic. There is no immunization available for hepatitis C.
"A lot of people don't get tested and we certainly would like to see more people get tested," said Audrey Zoe, project organizer with the Healing Drum Society, as she handed out pamphlets at noon on Monday.
DeCoutere informed people can learn about how to get tested for hepatitis and how to get immunized for type A and B by contacting Public Health. She added people should avoid risky behaviours, such as needle-sharing and unprotected sex.
Babies born in the NWT have been immunized against hepatitis B since fall 1995.
| "The sooner you're diagnosed, the sooner you can be put on treatment" |
"Hepatitis B (immunizations) is offered for free to all children, and as they grow up they are immune for life," said Corriveau. "We did a catch-up several years ago in kids all the way up to high school. We don't really see (hepatitis B) anymore, except among immigrants who are from countries that do not offer immunization."
Travellers heading from the NWT to countries where hepatitis B may be prevalent can be immunized before they depart, he added.
Corriveau recommends travellers get immunized for hepatitis A at Public Health, as well.
Hepatitis C was transmitted in Canada by tainted blood in the 1980s, but now primary causes are intravenous drug use and dirty tattoo needles, said Corriveau.
"Right now around the world, one of the major causes of liver cancer is hepatitis C, so if you have undiagnosed disease, over time, it leads to cirrhosis and cancer of the liver. So the sooner you're diagnosed, the sooner you can be put on treatment," he said.
"That's why this awareness is important for us, so people are aware that if they may have been exposed in the past they can just go and get tested for free and if you're positive you'll be tested before you get into trouble with your liver."
Mayor Mark Heyck officially proclaimed July 28 to be Hepatitis Awareness Day in Yellowknife.
The A, B and C of hepatitis
Hepatitis is a group of diseases of the liver caused by consuming contaminated water or food, using dirty syringes, practising unsafe sex and other exchanges of blood or bodily fluid.
There are six hepatitis viruses, but three - identified as A, B and C - cause approximately 90 per cent of hepatitis cases in Canada.
Hepatits A
Transmission: eating or drinking something contaminated with the virus (raw or undercooked food, food handled by people who did not wash their hands or water that has come into contact with animal or human feces).
Prevention: a variety of vaccines are available at Public Health. Handwashing is one of the best methods for preventing Hepatitis A.
Hepatitis B
Transmission: unprotected sexual contact or through blood and other bodily fluids.
Many people infected with this strain recover completely and develop an immunity to the virus. Babies born to mothers who are hepatitis B carriers have a 90 per cent chance of developing acute hepatitis B later in life, which can lead to diseases such as cirrhosis and cancer of the liver. Hepatitis B is the most prevalent strain of hepatitis in Canada.
Prevention: safe sex practices, immunization.
Hepatitis C
Transmission: injection drug use accounts for at least half of all cases, with tattooing with dirty needles and body piercing accounting for many of the other cases.
Between 210,000 and 275,000 people are currently infected with hepatitis C in Canada, of whom only 30 per cent know they have the virus. Up to 90 per cent of infected persons carry the disease indefinitely, putting them at long-term risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Prevention: there is no vaccine for hepatitis C. It may be avoided by not sharing needles or syringes and safe sex practices.
Source: Health Canada
