McAuliffe Hosting First Of Its Kind Hepatitis C Screening

Chicago, IL… In partnership with Caring Ambassadors, Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) and the Hepatitis C Community Alliance to Test & Treat (HepCCATT), State Representative Michael McAuliffe (R-Chicago) is offering a free liver health awareness event and Hepatitis C screening on Saturday April 30th from 9am-1pm at the Salvation Army (8354 W Foster Ave, Chicago).

The University of Chicago received a sizable grant from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to lead an unprecedented public health collaboration across the city of Chicago to increase testing and curing Hepatitis C. One of the grant’s main focuses is to raise public awareness and to educate on risk factors and importance of testing, which is the goal of the Liver Health Awareness Day on April 30th sponsored by Rep. McAuliffe.

Rep. McAuliffe founded and serves as chair of the Illinois House Hepatitis C Task Force. Rep. McAuliffe has filed House Resolution 969 to designate May as ‘Hepatitis C Awareness Month’ in the State of Illinois.

“It is estimated that 75 percent of the population infected with Hep B and Hep C is unaware they are even infected,” Rep. McAuliffe said. “This ignorance of the dangers of Hep C has personally affected my family and screening is a quick and simple way to prevent a tragedy. That is why I'm grateful to be partnering with these tremendous organizations to provide what will hopefully become a template for many more successful events and screenings across the Chicagoland area.”

According to HepCCATT, approximately 70,000 people in Illinois are living with Hepatitis C and most don’t know it because many people can live with HCV for decades with no symptoms. Hepatitis C is typically mild in its early stages and it is often not diagnosed or recognized until its chronic stages when it has caused severe liver disease. For these reasons, it is often referred to as the "silent epidemic".

The CDC recommends that everyone born during 1945 through 1965, also known as baby boomers, get a blood test for Hepatitis C. In addition those who received a blood transfusion before 1992, when the testing of blood donations improved, are also at an increased risk and encouraged to get tested.

Registration is encouraged, but not required. For more information contact Rep. McAuliffe’s office at (773) 444-0611