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CURRENT NEWS-March 14, 2005

News Articles of Interest, related to the usage of Oyster Extract Health Supplements.

The Immune System is your natural ability to protect your body from disease. Zinc activates the correct function of your immune cells. Studies show that people who suffer from Zinc deficiency nearly always have a decreased immune system and are subject to infections and illness.

Each month, OY-EX.com will provide an interesting article of topical discussion regarding medical issues related to liver disease. OY-EX is an important part of a regime to maintain good health, including the best vitamins and minerals found in nature to provide a healthy liver and immune system.

Research

Hepatitis C: The Silent Epidemic

By KAREN CRIMMINGS, RN, Disease Prevention Specialist,
Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health

March 14, 2005

You've heard a lot of news reports about the many methamphetamine-related arrests in North Iowa over the past year. But you probably haven't learned about the many health-related diseases associated with that type of drug use.

Meth users commonly inject the drug into their veins with a needle. IV drug use is the primary way to get hepatitis C (HCV).

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus. The infection is spread when blood or bodily fluids from an infected person enters the body of a person who is not infected. It is not spread by casual contact such as hugging, kissing, sneezing, coughing, or eating and drinking using utensils previously used by an infected person.

Hepatitis C is a problem in North Iowa. From January 1999-March 2004, Cerro Gordo County had 122 reported hepatitis C cases with an additional 708 cases still estimated to be undiagnosed.

Hepatitis C affects 4 million people in the United States and is the leading cause of liver transplantation. It is the most common bloodborne pathogen found in the U.S.

A small percentage of persons with acute hepatitis C resolve their infection without further problems. Approximately 85 percent develop chronic infection. Many people with chronic infection develop chronic liver disease, a situation in which the virus damages the liver. The damage may progress to severe disease, including cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. This progressive liver disease usually develops slowly over 20-30 years.

The greatest risk factor for contracting HCV is through intravenous drug use. If you have injected drugs with a needle - even one time - you are at the highest risk for HCV infection.

About signs and symptoms of hepatitis C:

• Infection with hepatitis C may cause mild symptoms, which usually develop slowly and may include tiredness, loss of appetite, stomach pain, nausea and vomiting.
• Most people who are infected with hepatitis C do not have symptoms and lead normal lives.
• Patients seldom become acutely ill, so it is possible for them to have the disease for some time before it is diagnosed.
• Because symptoms are so frequently mild or nonexistent, the majority of people with chronic HCV infection do not know they are infected and can unknowingly transmit the virus to others.
• Late in the disease, fatigue may become increasingly severe.
• For many, signs and symptoms appear once liver disease is advanced and treatments are less effective.

Facts about hepatitis C:

• Infection occurs from the sharing of needles, syringes, or other equipment associated with drug use.
• HCV infection can be rapidly acquired following the initiation of injection drug use.
• Of persons injecting drugs for at least five years, 60-80 percent are infected with HCV compared to about 30 percent infected with HIV.
• It may take two to three decades for serious liver damage to occur.
• It is believed that about 20 percent of the patients with chronic hepatitis C will develop cirrhosis, and a few of those will develop liver cancer.
• The true impact of HCV infection may explode over the next 10-20 years.
• Because it takes 20-30 years for chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver cancer to develop, it is conservatively estimated that illness and deaths from HCV-related liver disease among the millions of people infected during earlier years will increase two- to three-fold over the next two decades.
• Direct medical costs may range from $6.5 to $13.6 billion, with even larger indirect and societal costs.
• Anyone who has ever injected drugs - even if it was only one time in the past - should be tested for HCV.
• Early detection is important. Research has shown that treatment is most effective when started in the early stages of the disease. Once HCV infection has been identified, counseling for individuals not only helps to reduce (or even prevent) further transmission but also allows these people to have a more informed choice about lifestyle habits that can exacerbate liver disease, such as continued drug and alcohol use.

The Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health has received a grant to offer free hepatitis C counseling and testing services for individuals who are using or have previously used needles for injection of street drugs, even if it was only once.

Anyone interested in being screened for the virus should contact the Department of Public Health at (641) 421-9323 to schedule an appointment. For more information regarding hepatitis C, visit our Web site at www.cghealth.com.

CURRENT NEWS-March 15, 2005