A Message from Ministers Dosanjh and Bennett

Hepatitis Awareness Month

May is "Hepatitis Awareness Month" in Canada. We encourage you to take this opportunity to learn about hepatitis and the most common forms of the disease - hepatitis A, B and C.

Hepatitis A is a viral infection of the liver, and can cause nausea, fever and jaundice, as well as persistent, disabling fatigue. It is especially prevalent in the developing world. The Public Health Agency's Travel Medicine Program informs Canadian travellers on global disease outbreaks - including hepatitis A. The program also provides advice on what precautions to take to avoid contracting the infection.

Hepatitis B causes liver disease. Some of the ways in which you can contract this disease are through unprotected sex and through sharing unsterile equipment for injection drug use. People who carry the virus are at risk of liver damage and liver cancer.

Another cause of liver disease is hepatitis C. Most people newly infected with hepatitis C have no symptoms and are unaware of their infection, but are at risk of liver damage and liver cancer and can still pass it on to others. The most common way of contracting this disease in Canada is through injection drug use with unsterile equipment. It is estimated that 240,000 people in Canada are infected with hepatitis C. Currently, treatment can clear the virus from the blood in 50 to 80 percent of infected individuals.

There is a vaccine for both hepatitis A and hepatitis B, and it is recommended that Canadians receive the vaccination for hepatitis B at an early age.

For more information about hepatitis in all its forms and how you can help protect yourself from the disease, please visit the Public Health Agency of Canada's Hepatitis Web site.

For more information on Hepatitis A and global disease outbreaks visit the Public Health Agency of Canada's Travel Health section.