Recovered hepatitis C patient urges people in Wales to get tested

Nation.Cymru staff

A man who was cured of hepatitis C after receiving treatment in Wales is urging anyone who may have been exposed to the virus to come forward for testing, warning that many people may not realise they are infected.

Andy Green, from Cwmbran, said treatment had given him “my life back” after years of living with the virus, which can cause serious liver damage and liver cancer if left untreated.

Public Health Wales is using his story to encourage people in at-risk groups to take up free testing, stressing that hepatitis C is now highly treatable with a short course of tablets that has very few side effects.

Mr Green was diagnosed while living in the United States in the 1990s after seeking medical help for extreme fatigue. Although he does not know how he contracted the virus, he said his doctor focused on treatment rather than how he became infected.

“My diagnosis was a shock and I don’t know how I got it,” he said.

“But the doctor wasn’t interested in how I acquired it and so immediately I felt there was no stigma and we just focused on treating the illness.”

After moving to Wales, where he now works for the NHS, Mr Green received treatment through the blood-borne viruses team at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.

“It was just a few weeks of taking a daily tablet. I had no side effects, and then all of a sudden, the virus was completely gone,” he said.

“It was like having my life back – a huge weight off my shoulders. I’d always had a fear in the back of my mind that my daughter could pick it up from me by accident, and that fear has completely gone now.”

Hepatitis C is spread through blood-to-blood contact. In the UK, the main risks include sharing needles or other equipment used to take drugs, unprotected sex with someone who has the virus, or using unlicensed providers for tattoos, piercings, Botox or dermal fillers. Medical or dental treatment abroad in countries with less stringent hygiene standards can also increase the risk of infection.

Because many people experience few or only vague symptoms, including tiredness, nausea, stomach pain or loss of appetite, hepatitis C is often described as a “silent” disease.

Early diagnosis

Dr Daniel Thomas, consultant epidemiologist at Public Health Wales, said early diagnosis and treatment could prevent serious illness.

“Hepatitis C is a silent disease that can cause long-term illness, but with a simple blood test and effective medicines it is easy to diagnose and very easy to treat,” he said.

“Anyone with any risk should definitely get tested through the Public Health Wales Test and Post service. Get tested. Get treated. Get cured.”

Mr Green urged anyone with concerns not to delay seeking a test.

“I would advise anyone with concerns to get tested,” he said. “The treatment is really easy to manage, and the cure has given me a new-found freedom.”

More information about hepatitis C can be found on the Public Health Wales website.

---

Get more trusted Welsh news

Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News to see more of our journalism.