Lloyd Wright {dot} org

Dozens of people gathered outside San Francisco City Hall Wednesday to raise awareness about hepatitis C and call on government officials to take action to ensure care for people that are suffering from the virus.

The event, organized by the city's Hepatitis C Task Force, brought together people who have suffered from the virus and their supporters, including representatives of Mayor Gavin Newsom and Supervisor Bevan Dufty.

May 19th marks World Hepatitis Awareness Day - a great opportunity for California to take action to help prevent liver cancer and liver disease caused by hepatitis C and B. We ask you to join us in supporting Senate Bill 1029 to ensure all Californians have access to an essential and common-sense component of an effective hepatitis prevention strategy: the ability to purchase sterile syringes in a pharmacy.

Obviously, fire fighters risk their lives when they fight fires. But you probably never realized they also risk their lives when they provide medical aid to people.

That’s why the Tallahassee Fire Department and Hepatitis Ready Care organization will commemorate World Hepatitis Day on Wednesday. The event will be at 10 a.m. at Fire Station 3 at 3005 S. Monroe St.

Monday, May 03, 2010

Research has debunked the belief that hepatitis C virus slows down immune system’s ability to restore itself after HIV patients are treated with combination drugs known as the ‘cocktail’.

Hepatitis C infection is more serious in HIV-infected people, leading to rapid liver damage, according to the Centre for Disease Control.

Intravenous drug use is a main method of contraction for both HIV and hepatitis C. Besides, 50 to 90 percent of HIV-infected drug users are also infected with hepatitis C.

Federal judge Robert Blackburn has sentenced Kristen Parker, a scrub tech who was accused of infecting several people with hepatitis C, to 30 years imprisonment. Parker will also have to pay restitution to the medical facilities for which she worked. Earlier this year, Judge Blackburn had rejected a plea agreement between the United States and Parker for a lesser sentence of 20 years.

A jury found two companies that made and distributed the anesthetic
propofol used at Desert Shadow Endoscopy Center liable on multiple
counts Wednesday, awarding a Las Vegas couple more than $5 million in
compensatory damages.

Jurors also determined that punitive damages were warranted against
the drug companies, the amount of which will be determined in a second
round of deliberations.