Health director: Take hepatitis risk assessment

May is Hepatitis Awareness Month, and the Georgia Department of Public Health Northwest Health District urges people to assess their risk of having viral hepatitis and find out if they should get tested or vaccinated. District Health Director Dr. Unini Odama encourages people to visit www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/RiskAssessment for a free online assessment.

The assessment takes only five minutes and will provide personalized testing-and-vaccination recommendations for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. Each of the 10 Northwest Health District county health departments offers hepatitis testing and vaccination.

Hepatitis A: It is a highly contagious liver infection that can range from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a severe illness lasting several months. The hepatitis A virus is usually spread when a person ingests the virus from contact with objects, food, or drinks contaminated by feces or stool from an infected person.

Hepatitis B: For some people, especially those i nfected as i nfants, the infection leads to a chronic or lifelong illness. The hepatitis B virus is spread primarily through blood, semen, or certain other body fluids.

Hepatitis C: According to the CDC, baby boomers are five times more likely to be infected with hepatitis C than other adults. Most people who become infected with the virus go on to develop a chronic infection that causes serious liver problems. Today, most people become infected with hepatitis C by sharing needles, syringes, or other equipment to inject drugs.