Hepatitis C News Feed

The Caring Ambassadors Program mission is to help improve the lives of those affected by long-term diseases through advocacy, information, and support.

Petition to GOP Leadership: Stop Condemning Injection Drug Users to Death

"It took AIDS activists 21 years to get Congress to restore federal funding for local programs that supply clean needles to drug users. It's taken Republicans a couple of months of hardball negotiations to get the ban reinstated."

Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, Dec 25, 2011

It was sticks and ashes in our stockings this year from the GOP, but we're not going to wait another five years to get the federal ban on syringe access funding lifted again! Our GOP opponents, the White House, and our too-soft supporters in Congress are all going to be hearing from us loud and clear over the coming months. Our first step is to let those who led the charge know we are watching, and holding them responsible.

Speaker John Boehner (OH- R) and Chairman Hal Rogers (KY- R) are the two Members of Congress most responsible for reinstating the ban on the use of federal funds for syringe exchange. Please join us in letting them know we strongly object to their actions by signing this petition today, and please spread this alert far and wide.

We will deliver them in person with as many signatures as possible by February 15!

Hepatitis C News

Week Ending January 29, 2012

Cortland sees spike in Hepatitis C in drug users
Cortland, N.Y. – “Public health officials are investigating a surge of Hepatitis C cases in Cortland County showing up mostly among people under 35 who shoot drugs.”

Hepatitis C warning for HIV-positive men
A new report is calling for raised awareness of the risks posed by hepatitis C to gay men living with HIV.
“The National AIDS Trust said the implications of hepatitis C and HIV co-infection on health can be severe, with liver disease one of the major causes of serious illness and fatality in HIV-positive people.”

VIHA moves cautiously to step up efforts for harm reduction
“South Nanaimo residents reacted angrily in 2007, when public health nurses in vans started showing up in alleys, handing out crack-pipe mouthpieces and other supplies to addicts.”

The sharp side: B.C. hospitals aim to safeguard health professionals from sharp instruments
“Five thousand health professionals, including hundreds of nurses and doctors in operating rooms, are stabbed by sharp medical instruments each year in B.C.”

No vaccine for Hep C
“In Tuesday’s front-page coverage about travel vaccinations there is one serious error that needs correction. The picture accompanying the article shows a nurse holding two vials filled with vaccines. The caption lists one of those vaccines as being for Hep C.”

For more Hepatitis C In The News, click here

CAP-Hepatitis C Activist Resource Center

Act Now to Impact C!

The CAP-Hepatitis C Activist Resource Center provides tools to:

• increase public awareness of hepatitis C
• inform policy makers about current hepatitis C issues
• keep abreast of evolving issues in the hepatitis C community

Together, we can change the course of Hepatitis C.
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Early diagnosis is essential to control spread of HCV.