HEPATITIS B AND HEPATITIS C IN CANADA

Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C in Canada

My topic is hepatitis B and hepatitis C in Canada

Hepatitis B is a liver disease caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV). A process can cause acute or chronic process that could end in cirrhosis (loss of "architecture" for liver scarring and the emergence of regenerative nodules) of the liver, liver cancer, liver failure and death. Tends to metabolize almost all medicines, drugs and other toxic substances from the bloodstream. It also stores energy in the form of glycogen, the body can use if necessary.

Hepatitis B is spread through contact with blood, semen or other body fluid of an infected person.

You can get hepatitis B through

* Having sex with an infected person without using a condom

* Sharing needles to inject drugs

* Getting a tattoo or a piercing somewhere in the body with dirty tools that were used with other people

* Stuck with a needle contaminated with infected blood (health care workers can get hepatitis B this way)

* Share your toothbrush or razor with an infected person

* Travel to countries where hepatitis B is common (it is possible to travel to endemic areas is an important risk factor, but this simple fact alone does not determine who the person is infected, if you have the proper care)

* Also, an infected woman can transmit hepatitis B to her baby at the moment it is born or through breast milk.

In a sublime display of political acrobatics, politicians from Canada's three most populous provinces last week threatened to derail a controversial compensation agreement for those infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) through blood-despite these provinces being signatories to the agreement. (Wang, Goldberg, Milner 2007) Ontario premier, Mike Harris, is even threatening to "join the [victims'] lawsuit to sue the federal government...for shirking their responsibilities" by not compensating those who were infected before 1986. But Ontario is already named as a co-defendant in the suit. (Munroe, Pielak, 2000)

Meanwhile, the province of Quebec overcame its unwillingness to compensate individuals infected before 1986 by passing a unanimous resolution calling on the federal government to pay up. British Columbia also broke ranks by saying that it will introduce a motion in its legislature this week demanding that Ottawa provide no-fault compensation and increase federal-transfer payments to help offset treatment costs of HCV patients. (Wang, Goldberg, Milner 2007) The bizarre and often illogical sequence of events seemed to have completely sabotaged the entire compensation offer, which was subject to an amazing parliamentary vote-of-confidence (see Lancet, May 2, p1338). Under the package, Ottawa is offering Can$800 million (US$560 million) and the provinces are offering $300million to an estimated 20000 Canadians who contracted HCV during 1986-90.

The deal then seemed, at least momentarily, to be back on track when a conference call of the nation's health ministers led Saskatchewan Health Minister Clay Serby to announce on May 1 that the provinces "are not calling on Ottawa to extend the compensation package"-except ...