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The Face Of Hepatitis C Is Getting Younger

Published December 1, 2017 at 1:11 PM EST
Dr. Diana Sylvestre treats a patient at the Mendocino County AIDS/Viral Hepatitis Network (MCAVHN) in Ukiah, where intravenous drug users dispose used syringes and pick up clean ones to reduce their risk of infection. (Pauline Bartolone/Kaiser Health News)
Dr. Diana Sylvestre treats a patient at the Mendocino County AIDS/Viral Hepatitis Network (MCAVHN) in Ukiah, where intravenous drug users dispose used syringes and pick up clean ones to reduce their risk of infection. (Pauline Bartolone/Kaiser Health News)

Three-quarters of all chronic hepatitis C cases in the U.S afflict people over 50. But in recent years, new infections have tripled among people in their 20s. Health officials call it a side effect of the opioid epidemic.

Pauline Bartolone (@pbartolone) from Kaiser Health News reports on a program that’s trying to reach these young people who use drugs, outside the traditional health care setting.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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