Hepatitis B and C are serious and potentially life-threatening liver diseases that affect hundreds of thousands of Canadians.
by Dr. Morris Sherman
In
the article, Sask. Hep. C rate is double average (SP, July 29), about
the rate of hepatitis C in Canada, there are two errors. Dr. Saqib
Shabab suggests that the provincial rate of 60 per 100,000 is double the
national rate when in fact the national rate is unknown.
There
are several estimates, ranging from 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent (50 to
150 cases per 100,000). Thus, we can see that the Saskatchewan rate is
toward the lower end of the various estimates of the national rate. We
do not have national data because no jurisdiction has undertaken the
necessary study.
Read more...Labels: awareness, Canada, epidemiology, HBV, HCV, testing