At the end of July, a free anti-HCV screening campaign and an educational happening will take place in Warsaw
Warsaw, November 17.07.2014, XNUMX – On July 28, 2014, when Hepatitis Day will be celebrated around the world, a free anti-HCV screening campaign will take place in Warsaw and four other Polish cities. Anyone who reports early enough to the institutions participating in it can benefit. This is an extremely important initiative. The latest calculations by Polish experts show that around 200 people live with HCV in our country. Of this, about 85 percent. he has no idea about his infection. And yet HCV is a very dangerous virus that is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths annually around the world. It must not be underestimated. Especially since hepatitis C can now be successfully treated. In order not to get infected by the virus, you just need to be aware of the infection. Unfortunately, most Poles do not know about it. So the key to fighting the epidemic is education. Therefore, on Sunday, July 27, from noon to early evening, interested residents and visitors of the capital city will be transported around the center free of charge by a double-decker bus marked with yellow bows.
On the bus, everyone will be able to learn more about viral liver infection from a virologist-doctor and volunteers who will participate in the happening. The campaign is organized by the Star of Hope Foundation. The patronage over the action was taken by the Polish Hepatological Society and the Hepatological Coalition.
The original British double-decker from the mid-60s will carry passengers around the center of Warsaw, including along Aleje Jerozolimskie, ul. Emilii Plater and ul. French. Anyone will be able to get in and learn more about the routes of HCV transmission, the potential consequences of infection and how to protect against it during the ride.
The next day, July 28, the free research campaign will start. To check whether you have been in contact with HCV, it is enough to come to one of the Laboratory Diagnostyka facilities in Warsaw and undergo a blood test. The number of tests is limited. The order of applications decides. Three institutions take part in the action:
Ul. Bukowińska 12
7:00 p.m. – 14:00 p.m.
Ul. Twenty-year-olds 3
7:00 p.m. – 14:00 p.m.
Aleja Prymasa Tysiąclecia 79a
7:00 p.m. – 14:00 p.m.
It is good that such actions are organized, but it would be much better if the screening program was implemented as part of the national program of combating HCV infections financed by the Ministry of Health or the National Health Fund, which we have been trying to unsuccessfully for years. HCV is an insidious virus. The infection remains hidden for many years, and if left untreated, it can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. It is worth recognizing HCV infection early, especially because thanks to drugs that are already available in most EU countries, and unfortunately in Poland they will be reimbursed, as usual, with a long delay, we will be able to cure almost everyone infected. Thanks to modern therapies, chronic hepatitis C caused by HCV will be the first chronic disease in the history of medicine that can be completely cured in almost all patients. Of course, the basic condition is the reimbursement of the therapy, the pharmaco-economic justification of which should not raise any doubts. HCV infection can occur in any situation related to the disruption of the skin, especially in beauty and hairdressing salons, minor injuries, in health care facilities, or during tattooing or even occasional intravenous drug intake. Everyone in their life has found themselves in one of the above situations at least once, so everyone should check from time to time whether they are in the group of nearly 2% of Poles who have anti-HCV antibodies – said prof. dr hab. Robert Flisiak President of the Polish Hepatological Society.
– The gray zone of hepatitis C, i.e. the group of people who live with the virus, and they do not know it, is huge in Poland. HCV multiplies in their bodies and destroys them every day. These people can also unknowingly infect others. People are afraid to do tests.
And yet hepatitis C is not a verdict. There are new drugs that will soon be – I strongly believe in it – also available to Polish patients, as they are available to American or Western European patients. Hepatitis C can then be cured in just a few or a dozen weeks – said Barbara Pepke, president of the Star of Hope Foundation and co-organizer of this year’s free anti-HCV research campaign in Warsaw.
Apart from Warsaw, free tests will also be available in Częstochowa, Katowice, Kraków and Szczecin.