LANDMARK buildings throughout Bradford – including Bradford Royal Infirmary – will be lit up purple tonight to mark World Hepatitis Day (July 28).
And Bradford Teaching Hospital’s own specialist Hepatology team hope the event will shine a spotlight on Hepatitis C, a ‘silent infection’ which, if left untreated, can cause scarring of the liver (cirrhosis) and liver cancer. Rhian Simpson, Lead Hepatology Clinical Nurse Specialist at Bradford Teaching Hospitals, said: “There are people who are carrying Hepatitis C but don’t know it, and who don’t know we can cure them. “So, World Hepatitis Day is a really worthwhile event to help raise the profile of the condition.
With modern treatments, it’s now usually possible to cure Hepatitis C in eight to 12 weeks. “Since new treatments for the condition were licensed in England in 2015, we have treated 617 patients at BRI, but we know there are still more people out there with the condition, and we encourage people to come forward and contact their GP to get screened if they think they may have been exposed to Hepatitis C. Screening is carried out via a simple blood test.” Hepatitis C often lies undetected for years until the virus damages the liver enough to cause liver disease.
To read the full article on Bradford Teaching Hospital website click here: https://www.bradfordhospitals.nhs.uk/2020/07/28/bri-and-bradford-buildings-to-turn-purple-to-mark-world-hepatitis-day/