Clinic hosts hepatitis C testing

Eric Leake

Friday, Feb. 21, 2003 | 9:04 a.m.

Bill Provost lived on the streets for years unaware he had hepatitis C.

"I was tired all the time. My colds lasted three times longer than anybody else's," he said.

It was not until the 42-year-old Salvation Army employee acquired medical coverage that he was diagnosed with the disease.

A new hepatitis C testing program at the Economic Opportunity Board men's health clinic is attempting to spare other at-risk patients a similar ordeal.

Free testing started this month at the EOB clinic on 1700 Wheeler Peak Drive. It is funded through a $10,000 government grant.

The program does not include treatment. The idea is that if people know they have the disease, they can make adjustments to confront and check it.

"We opted instead of trying to attack this huge monster called treatment, we decided that this disease was one of those that responds to lifestyle changes," Cheryl Sonnenberg, EOB Health Services administrator, said.

Dietary changes and abstinence from alcohol can lessen the impact of the incurable viral disease, which attacks the liver and is transmitted through the blood, she said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 2.7 million Americans suffer from chronic hepatitis C infections.