Lynda

There was a very interesting article in "Parade's Special Intelligence
Report" by Lyric Wallwork Winik.

"David Satcher, the U.S. Surgeon General, is short on funds for stamps. Why
should you care? Well, he wanted to mail a letter to every U.S. household
warning of a health risk. (The last time a Surgeon General did this, it was
C. Everett Koop, and the risk was AIDS.)

The danger is a liver disease known as Hepatitis C (HCV). If you received
blood for any reason--surgery, a car accident, a cesarean birth--before July
1992, when accurate blood-screening began, you could be at risk. And you
can carry the disease for 30 years before noticing any symptoms. Hepatitis
C can be diagnosed with blood tests, and treatment is effective in up to 40%
of cases. Untreated, it can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure and liver
cancer. An estimated 4 million Americans are infected, including many
veterans, and 70% have no symptoms.

To read Dr. Satcher's letter and learn more about HCV and other risk
factors, go to www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/hepatitisc/letter.htm or call
the American Liver Foundation hotline at 1-800-465-4837."

Lynda
If Ignorance Is Bliss Why Aren't More People Happy?