32% of Italians say they know little or nothing about hepatitis. And among those who know at least something, over 1 in 2 does not know exactly how one can get sick (57.3%) and 6 in 10 do not know the various types of hepatitis or the effects on a patient’s health or living conditions. Only 7 in 10 know that viruses can cause hepatitis (58.7% indicate bacteria, 41.5% parasites) and, finally, less than 3 in 10 are informed about the treatment and cure options. This is the picture outlined by the opinion poll ‘Italians and hepatitis’, conducted by AstraRicerche for Gilead Sciences on a sample of a thousand compatriots, the results of which are being released today in view of World Hepatitis Day, celebrated every year on July 28. The data highlights the need for more widespread information on the topic and for this reason ‘Hepatitis C. Let’s put a point’ is starting again, the multi-channel campaign that began its journey in Milan with the Awareness Tram, in conjunction with the European Hepatology Congress (EASL), and which arrives in Rome these days, on the screens of the main railway hubs of the Capital, with the aim of spreading greater knowledge of hepatitis C and its transmission methods, inviting the population to carry out the screening test.
The campaign – explains a note – is promoted by Gilead Sciences with the patronage of 7 patient associations (Anlaids Sezione Lombarda Ets, Anlaids Onlus, EpaC – Ets, Associazione Milano Check Point, Cooperativa Sociale Open Group Bologna, Plus Roma, Fondazione Villa Maraini), the Italian Red Cross, 3 scientific societies (Aisf – Italian Association for the Study of the Liver, Simg – Italian Society of General Medicine and Primary Care, Simit – Italian Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases) and the Metropolitan City of Milan. The initiative shines a spotlight on a public health problem that involves thousands of people with the HCV virus, responsible for hepatitis C, and who do not know they have it, given that the disease can remain silent for many years.
Returning to the survey, for those who know something about hepatitis it is clear that these are potentially serious infections: 79.4% indicate liver failure as a consequence, 72.2% cirrhosis, 69.1% premature death and 67.5% liver cancer. However, 7 out of 10 still hold the false belief that hepatitis causes visible symptoms and only a little more than 1 in 10 knows that hepatitis C can be silent. “HCV infection – underlines Stefano Fagiuoli, director of the Complex Unit of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Transplantology, Asst Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo; Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Milan Bicocca – can remain silent even for many years, progressively damaging the liver’s functionality, without the person being aware of it”.
Spreading correct information about hepatitis “is an integral part of the plan to achieve the WHO 2030 objectives – Fagiuoli recalls – among which is the eradication of hepatitis C, a disease that is now curable but for which there is still a significant hidden share. Increasing awareness of the ways in which viruses are transmitted is a successful strategy to promote access to screening tests and promote a path of earlier diagnosis and treatment. A saving in terms of health and economics, with obvious repercussions on health”.
On one point, the interviewees almost all agree: blood tests are the way to detect hepatitis (83.3%). With the aim of bringing out the ‘hidden’, in Italy there is an active national program of free screening for hepatitis C for those born between 1969 and 1989 and for some categories of people considered at risk. “Information, awareness and action are the key words for a successful strategy to eradicate hepatitis – explains Roberta D’Ambrosio, specialist in Gastroenterology, hepatologist at the Fondazione Irccs Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan – Putting an end to hepatitis and stopping the contagion is a common goal, which concerns everyone. For this reason it is important to know the ways in which hepatitis is transmitted, to be aware of the importance of getting tested even in the absence of symptoms or defined risky behaviors. Suffice it to say that exposure to medical-surgical procedures before the 1990s, when the virus had not yet been discovered, represents the most important risk factor for HCV infection”.
The infection is therefore not confined to particular categories of people, although hepatitis is still shrouded in stigma: 10.8% of those who know about it say that contact with people living with infections should be avoided. “Knowledge and awareness – observes Ivan Gardini, president of EpaC Ets – are necessary actions to combat stigma and false myths, still widespread among Italians, as well as to stop the contagion. On the occasion of World Hepatitis Day, I underline the importance of being informed and accessing the national screening for hepatitis C, free for people aged 35-55, an opportunity not yet fully seized by all the Regions, which travels at different speeds throughout Italy. Yet, taking a simple test is the first step towards treatment, and avoiding cirrhosis, liver cancer and transplant”. Two influencers are also promoting the awareness campaign ‘Hepatitis C. Let’s put a point’: Diego Passoni, radio host, and Luca Trapanese, writer, activist and founder of the association ‘A ruota libera’. Epatitectiamociunpunto.it is also online, a site to learn about hepatitis C and its transmission methods starting from 4 stories of ordinary people who, thanks to the test, discovered and cured the infection.
#Health #Survey #Italians #viral #hepatitis #treatments
