hepatitis C news stories on Newser

Baby Boomer? Feds Say Get Tested for Hepatitis C

Dustin Lushing — Sat, 05 May 2012 11:33:25 CDT

An epidemic of hepatitis C is afflicting the baby boomer generation, and federal authorities will roll out a campaign this year urging everyone born between 1945 and 1965 to get tested, reports the Los Angeles Times . Roughly 75% of the estimated 3.2 million people infected are boomers, many of...

Dirty Medical Instruments a Rising Threat

Dustin Lushing — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 07:01:32 CST

A disturbing and dangerous trend is growing in hospitals, according to a report from the Center of Public Integrity : the use of dirty instruments leading to serious infections. The problem is showing up with "alarming regularity" and could be linked to the difficulty in cleaning modern surgical tools and the...

You're More Likely to Die of Hepatitis C Than HIV

Kevin Spak — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:09:18 CST

In some ways, hepatitis C is the new HIV. Thanks to widespread safe-sex campaigns, HIV and AIDS aren't the killers they once were in America. They now account for about 12,700 deaths a year, down from more than 50,000 at the mid-1990s peak, Scientific American reports. That puts...

Is Your Sex Life Too Active to Donate Organs?

Dustin Lushing — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:50:05 CST

Anyone who has had sex with two or more people in the past year could be classified as a risky organ donor even if they possess no other risk factors, according to new health guidelines proposed by the CDC. The new federal policy would flag organ donors who have not...

Doc Passed Hepatitis C to 49 Abortion Patients: Cops

Rob Quinn — Fri, 27 May 2011 02:40:00 CDT

An Australian doctor infected with hepatitis C passed the disease on to at least 49 patients at the abortion clinic where he worked, police say. Anesthesiologist James Peters has been charged with dozens of counts of endangering life, negligently causing serious injury, and recklessly causing serious injury, AP reports. Investigators...

Natalie Cole: 'I Need a Kidney'

Rob Quinn — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 06:18:27 CDT

Natalie Cole told CNN's Larry King last night that she needed a kidney—and had dozens of offers flood in before the show was through. "There are some great human beings out there. That's all I can say," said the singer, who has been on dialysis three days a week...

Cole in Hospital With Hepatitis

Harry Kimball — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 10:00:00 CDT

Singer Natalie Cole has been hospitalized with complications related to hepatitis C, the Los Angeles Times reports. Cole was diagnosed with the liver disease in July and has been undergoing chemotherapy. That treatment and “the heavy promotional schedule for her new album took its toll,” her publicist said. Cole has...

Reuse of Syringes at Nev. Clinic Triggers Health Alarm

Peter Fearon — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:05:23 CST

Six people with serious cases of hepatitis are just the beginning of what's expected to be a major health problem after a Las Vegas clinic gambled with the lives of tens of thousands of patients by reusing syringes, reports AP. The practice may have exposed patients to HIV and could...