Hepatitis C Risk-Notification Program Continues

The next stage of the province's hepatitis C risk-notification program begins this week. A total of 1,514 letters will be sent to people who received blood or blood products between 1984 and 1990 while patients at the former IWK Children's Hospital and the Grace Maternity Hospital, now the IWK Grace Health Centre, and the Dartmouth General Hospital. Some of these people may have been exposed to hepatitis C.

The letters will inform people of the potential risk and encourage them to seek testing. Recipients, or parents and guardians if the person is under 16 years of age, are advised to consult with their doctor about testing for hepatitis C. General questions and answers about hepatitis C and a laboratory form for the recipient to take to the doctor are included with the letter.

Nova Scotia's hepatitis C risk-notification program was launched in June 1997 to trace Nova Scotians who may have been exposed to hepatitis C through blood or blood products between 1984 and 1990 and even earlier. The cost of the program is approximately $1 million. Nova Scotia is one of only four provinces conducting a provincewide notification program.

"The notification program is going well," said Dr. Jeff Scott, provincial medical officer of health and chairman of the steering committee organizing the campaign. "We mailed more than 8,000 letters to adults last October, and 65 per cent of those recipients have been tested. Of those tested, 98.2 per cent were negative."

The notification campaign relied on available medical records, most of which go back as far as 1984. There are adults and children who may have been exposed to hepatitis C prior to 1984, before appropriate records were available.

"We know we can't trace everyone, and that's why general public awareness is so important," said Dr. Scott. "If you think you or your children may have been exposed to hepatitis C, ask your doctor and find out more about testing."

For additional information on hepatitis C, contact 1-800-430-9557 toll-free.

Note: The following is intended for use by broadcast media

The next stage of Nova Scotia's hepatitis C

risk-notification program begins this week.

More than one-thousand-five-hundred letters

will be sent to former patients of the IWK,

Grace Maternity Hospital and Dartmouth General.

These patients may have been exposed to hepatitis C

through blood or blood products between 1984 and 1990.

Recipients are advised to see their doctor about

potential risks and testing.

For further information on hepatitis C

call 1-800-430-9557.