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Mission Friendship Centre hosts World Hepatitus Day event

On Friday, July 28 there will be health nurses, games, testing, speakers, food and more
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The Mission Friendship Centre is hosting a World Hepatitus Day event on Friday, July 28 from 1 to 4 p.m.

Everyone is welcome to attend. There will be health nurses, games, testing, speakers, food, educational opportunities and more.

Come learn more about this treatable disease.

The centre is located at 33150 1st Ave. in Mission.

Hepatitus Facts:

Although some 600,000 Canadians are infected with hepatitis B or C, almost half of them are unaware of their condition.

The Canadian Society for International Health (CSIH) is mobilizing communities across Canada to promote the prevention, testing and treatment of viral hepatitis on World Hepatitis Day, July 28.

Viral hepatitis is a serious liver disease that may lead to liver failure, cancer, cirrhosis, disability and death, if left untreated. People who are infected can unknowingly transmit the disease to others.

Baby boomers are more likely to be infected than other age groups as a result of medical procedures, such as blood transfusion or dental work, performed before universal infection control measures became the norm.

Other at-risk groups include immigrants from countries with high rates of hepatitis, aboriginal populations, street youth, injection drug users and prison inmates.

To prevent the spread of viral hepatitis, the World Health Organization recommends avoiding unsafe injections, unprotected sex and unscreened blood transfusions. Other simple precautions include not sharing toothbrushes, nail clippers and razors.

Hepatitis B, although incurable, is preventable through vaccination. No vaccine exists for Hepatitis C, but thanks to pharmaceutical advances, this strain of the disease is treatable, and curable in 95-98 per cent of cases when detected early.