Inquiry hears more information needed on hep C

A Senate inquiry into hepatitis C in Australia has been told there is a lack of information in the community about the disease and the affect it has on people.

A Senate inquiry into hepatitis C in Australia has been told there is a lack of information in the community about the disease and the affect it has on people. The hepatitis C support group TRAIDS has told a hearing in Sydney that many people do not even tell their families they have the disease because of its associations with illegal drug use. Maria Romaniw from TRAIDS says many in the community do not realise how many people developed the disease from transfusions.”It still gets a knee-jerk reaction from family members and, as I said, it is very misunderstood and one of the things that can cause a lot of problems in families is the fear of contamination and how it’s going to be spread,” he said.”I’ve had people that have kept their children away from the person affected because they’re fearful that somehow the children will get it from ordinary contact.”(Source: ABC Health News, April 2004)