With more community partners collaborating to organize World Hepatitis Day events than ever before, the HepNet coalition was able to expand the occasion to a whole week of activities in July 2015. The goal was to raise awareness about the disease in the District of Thunder Bay where hepatitis C rates are significantly higher than the provincial average.
Hepatitis C is a virus that attacks the liver and is transmitted through blood and other bodily fluids. Diagnosis is important to begin treatment and to reduce the risk of transmitting the disease to another person.
“We wanted to make World Hepatitis Day a bigger event than in previous years because the disease is affecting so many people in the communities we serve,” says Diana Gowanlock, Manager of Infectious Disease Programs at the TBDHU. “We estimate there are 1 in 50 people living in Thunder Bay with hep C and many don’t even know it.”
The week included information sessions with health care providers featuring speaker Dr. Gary Garber, Chief of Infection Control for Public Health Ontario; two mobile test sites in the City of Thunder Bay; an interview on CBC radio; an information session for the public at Mary J. L. Black Library; and a BBQ hosted by Elevate NWO which was well-attended by about 100 people.
Following the success of 2015, additional partners joined the coalition in 2016 and the week of activities was once again offered to the community.