New Zealand Minister of Health calls for Hep C test

WELLINGTON, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) – New Zealand's Health Minister David Clark is asking New Zealanders to listen to a national campaign encouraging people to get tested for hepatitis C. to heal those who have the disease.

The Hepatitis Foundation of New Zealand, the Health Promotion Agency and the Ministry of Health will jointly launch a campaign entitled "Get tested for hepatitis C" starting Monday in order to raise awareness and encourage more people to be screened and treated.

Chronic liver infection affects about 50,000 people in New Zealand, Clark said Wednesday, adding that "the problem is that almost half of them do not know it."

Clark said that hepatitis C can cause liver cancer and that people can be infected in many ways, including sharing tattoo equipment or needles.

"If you have ever injected drugs even once a very long time ago, you should be screened," he said, adding that the Pharmaceutical Management Agency was starting this month. by funding the financing of a new treatment for hepatitis C, Maviret, likely to cure more than 99 percent of cases.

"The biggest problem now is finding people who do not know that they have the disease so we can treat them, and that's why this campaign is so timely," Clark said. Enditem

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