Hepatitis C has made an appearance in the news lately... about a dozen hospitals in seven different states are trying to identify people who may be infected with the disease after a traveling medical technician was charges with causing an outbreak in New Hampshire. This tech also worked for a period at Houston Health Care here in Warner Robins. Tomorrow is World Hepatitis Day, I went and spoke with Houston County's Nurse Manager to learn a little bit more about all forms of Hepatitis and how we can prevent it.

The strands of Hepatitis we generally talk about are classified as A, B and C. A is caused by consuming contaminated food and drinking water... it can be prevented by a vaccine which is usually recommended for people who plan to travel internationally. B and C are caused through contact with infected blood, or body fluids, but only B is preventable through a vaccination. Hepatitis can be fatal, and often symptoms don't present themselves at all, or not until late in the progression of the infection. Christina Sikes says even though there is no vaccine for Hepatitis C, there are ways to prevent it.

She adds tomorrow a Back to School Health Fair will be held at the Galleria Mall. The Fair will focus on Family Health, and education will be provided about Hepatitis Vaccines and Prevention. That fair starts tomorrow at 10 AM and last until 2 PM.