Dover (May 4, 2022) – The Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing May as Viral Hepatitis Awareness Month and May 19 as Hepatitis Testing Day. There are several different viruses that can cause hepatitis. The most common type of viral hepatitis are hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. Both hepatitis A and hepatitis B are preventable with vaccines and while there is no vaccine for hepatitis C, it is curable with proper treatment. Hepatitis B and C are the leading causes of liver cancer in the United States.  The only way to know if you have a viral hepatitis is to get tested. 

It is estimated that 2.4 million people in the United States are living with hepatitis C and between 880,000 and 1.89 million people are living with hepatitis B. Many are unaware that they are infected since symptoms usually are slow to present themselves. The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests everyone should get tested for viral hepatitis at least once in their lives. Some of the risk factors for contracting viral hepatitis include but are not limited to:  

• Individuals born between 1945 and 1965 
• IV drug users 
• Unstable housing 
• Travel to an area with endemic hepatitis A virus without being immunized 
• Unprotected sex with multiple partners 
• Job that exposes you to human blood 

“The Viral Hepatitis Program has been hard at work to build up the program’s outreach, prevention, and surveillance measures over the past year,” said DPH Treatment Program Administrator for the Viral Hepatitis and Vaccine Preventable Disease Programs Victoria Pyne, MA.  “Viral hepatitis is preventable and DPH’s viral hepatitis team is making efforts to raise awareness of the issue and encourage people to get tested at least once, as well as getting vaccinated for hepatitis A and hepatitis B.  Without testing, undiagnosed and untreated cases can lead to significant health complications. During Viral Hepatitis Awareness Month, we encourage people to get tested, learn the risks, and help the prevent the spread of viral hepatitis.”

For greater detail on the risk factors and disease information on each form of viral hepatitis, you can visit the CDC website: 

• Hepatitis A: https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hav/index.htm  
• Hepatitis B: https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hbv/index.htm 
• Hepatitis C: https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hcv/index.htm 

For more information, or to report a viral hepatitis case, call DPH’s Viral Hepatitis program at 302-744-4990.

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A person who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind or speech-disabled can call the DPH phone number above by using TTY services. Dial 7-1-1 or 800-232-5460 to type your conversation to a relay operator, who reads your conversation to a hearing person at DPH. The relay operator types the hearing person’s spoken words back to the TTY user. To learn more about TTY availability in Delaware, visit http://delawarerelay.com.

DOVER — The Division of Public Health (DPH) and its partners are working to raise awareness of viral hepatitis by encouraging priority populations to get tested, specifically for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. One of these priority populations, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), are people born from 1945–1965, sometimes referred to as baby boomers. The CDC indicates they are 5 times more likely to have hepatitis C than other adults.

Hepatitis is the name of a family of three viral infections that affect the liver: hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Hepatitis A and B can be prevented by vaccines. While hepatitis C has no vaccine, it can now be cured with medications.

Hepatitis C is the most common bloodborne infection in the United States. Chronic HCV infection can lead to serious health issues, including liver disease, liver failure, liver cancer, and death.

“We want to reinforce the importance of being tested for hepatitis C, particularly if you are in one of the higher risk populations,” said DPH Director Dr. Karyl Rattay. “The disease is serious, so knowing your hepatitis C status is vitally important.”

Symptoms of acute hepatitis C may include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal pain, joint pain, and vomiting. However, most people with acute HCV infection do not have any symptoms and are unaware of their infection. About 75 percent of people who are infected develop a long-term infection called chronic hepatitis C, which can lead to conditions like liver cancer and cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver and liver failure. Hepatitis C infection is one of the top reasons people get liver transplants.

Hepatitis C is usually transmitted when blood from an infected person enters the body of someone who is not infected. The disease is highly infectious and is easily transmitted, even in microscopic amounts of blood. Transmission of HCV occurs mainly through the sharing of needles, syringes, or other drug-injection equipment. It may also be transmitted through sexual contact or from an infected mother to her baby at birth.

Based upon CDC recommendations, DPH particularly encourages screening for HCV infection in people at high risk for. This includes adults born between 1945 and 1965 (a one-time test regardless of risk), those who presently inject or have ever injected drugs, those with certain medical conditions including but not limited to persons who received clotting factor concentrates produced before 1987, those who have ever been on long-term hemodialysis, received a blood transfusion, blood components, or an organ transplant before July 1992, or those who have HIV infection. To find a testing site near you, visit https://gettested.cdc.gov/.

In the United States, 3.5 million people are estimated to be chronically infected with HCV. There were 2,599 HCV cases reported in Delaware in 2016, however the majority of infected individuals do not know they are infected. Hepatitis C now kills more Americans than HIV.

If you’re unsure of your risk for hepatitis C, visit the DPH hepatitis web page and take a risk assessment, or speak with your health care provider. For more information, or to report a hepatitis C case, call the DPH Adult Viral Hepatitis program at 302-744-1050.

A person who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind or speech-disabled can call the DPH phone number above by using TTY services. Dial 7-1-1 or 800-232-5460 to type your conversation to a relay operator, who reads your conversation to a hearing person at DPH. The relay operator types the hearing person’s spoken words back to the TTY user. To learn more about TTY availability in Delaware, visit http://delawarerelay.com.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations. DPH, a division of DHSS, urges Delawareans to make healthier choices with the 5-2-1 Almost None campaign: eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables each day, have no more than 2 hours of recreational screen time each day (includes TV, computer, gaming), get 1 or more hours of physical activity each day, and drink almost no sugary beverages.

DOVER — The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) closed a Clayton body art business December 5, 2016, that was operating without a permit for violation of regulations under Title 16 of the Delaware Code. The operation had no official name and was run out of a private home at 253 Christiana River Drive in Clayton without the required body art establishment permit. In addition to operating without a permit and being entirely unregulated, DPH staff were unable to confirm proper sanitary precautions were used.

DPH encourages customers who may have received services at this location to contact their health care provider for evaluation for diseases such as hepatitis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that may have been transmitted through unsterile equipment. Tell the doctor about receiving a tattoo from an unregulated tattoo parlor, when it occurred, and any symptoms since the visit.

When in doubt, DPH recommends seeking testing for HIV and hepatitis. It is possible to carry these viruses for years without knowing it due to lack of symptoms, and, even if the virus cannot be traced to the closed tattoo parlor, knowing one’s HIV and hepatitis status can help get treatment and prevent further spread of these viruses.

The unregulated tattoo parlor kept no client records and, as a result, DPH cannot follow the normal protocol of contacting individuals by letter to urge them to seek medical testing. DPH is trying to spread the word by press releases, social media, alerting medical providers, and local community leaders.
Delawareans served by the illegal operation can also contact the DPH Communicable Disease Bureau at 302-744-1050 if they have questions about potential transmission risks.

“No one should ever seek body art services from an unlicensed business,” said DPH Director Dr. Karyl Rattay. “Establishments regulated by DPH are inspected and must meet requirements for sanitation, proper disposal of needles, use of gloves, and many other items. HIV and hepatitis can all too easily be transmitted if proper precautions are not taken. Before getting any kind of body art done, people should always insist on seeing the DPH permit which is required to be posted in an obvious place.”

DPH learned about the illegal establishment from a Facebook tip. It is unknown how many customers were served or how long the operation was in business at this time. The investigation is ongoing.

A person who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind, or speech-disabled can call the DPH phone number above by using TTY services. Dial 7-1-1 or 800-232-5460 to type your conversation to a relay operator, who reads your conversation to a hearing person at DPH. The relay operator types the hearing person’s spoken words back to the TTY user. To learn more about TTY availability in Delaware, visit delawarerelay.com.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations. DPH, a division of DHSS, urges Delawareans to make healthier choices with the 5-2-1 Almost None campaign: eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables each day, have no more than 2 hours of recreational screen time each day (includes TV, computer, gaming), get 1 or more hours of physical activity each day, drink almost no sugary beverages.

DOVER – The state Division of Public Health (DPH) encourages baby boomers, or individuals born between 1945 and 1965, to speak to their doctor about getting tested for hepatitis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 3.2 million Americans have chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) and another 1.2 million have chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV). Hepatitis B and C are spread primarily through contact with the blood of an infected person. Baby boomers account for 75 percent of all living hepatitis C cases, and 50 percent of people with hepatitis C don’t even know they are infected. Testing could identify up to one million individuals in the U.S. who do not currently know they are infected.

Known as the “silent epidemic,” most chronically infected individuals will have few or no symptoms until life-threatening complications such as liver cancer or end-stage liver disease develop – typically years after initial infection. Injection drug use is known to play a major role in HCV transmission. The CDC has noted increases in hepatitis cases in states where IV drug use has also increased. People become infected by sharing needles or other equipment used to inject drugs. Prior to 1992, when widespread screening of the blood supply began in the United States, hepatitis B and C were also commonly spread through blood transfusions and organ transplants.

Hepatitis A and B are vaccine-preventable diseases, whereas hepatitis C has no vaccine. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved new medications for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, which can now cure the disease. Hepatitis A occurs much less frequently in the United States and is more common in countries with poor sanitation. Most people recover with no lasting liver damage and the disease is rarely fatal.
If you’re not sure if you’re at risk for hepatitis, visit the DPH hepatitis web page, and take the five-minute risk assessment.

For more information, or to report a hepatitis C case, call DPH’s Adult Viral Hepatitis program at 302-744-1050.

A person who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind or speech-disabled can call the DPH phone number above by using TTY services. Dial 7-1-1 or 800-232-5460 to type your conversation to a relay operator, who reads your conversation to a hearing person at DPH. The relay operator types the hearing person’s spoken words back to the TTY user. To learn more about TTY availability in Delaware, visit http://delawarerelay.com.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations. DPH, a division of DHSS, urges Delawareans to make healthier choices with the 5-2-1 Almost None campaign: eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables each day, have no more than 2 hours of recreational screen time each day (includes TV, computer, gaming), get 1 or more hours of physical activity each day, drink almost no sugary beverages.