AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is reminding residents of the state to get tested for hepatitis and ask about available vaccines.
The agency says Maine has seen an increase in cases of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in recent years. The viral form of the disease is one of the top causes of liver cancer in the country.
One of the challenges of the disease is that most infected people won’t have any symptoms. Then, the only way to know they have it is to get tested.
There are vaccines available for hepatitis A and hepatitis B, but not hepatitis C. Treatments exist to keep hepatitis B and hepatitis C under control, but the Maine CDC says preventing life-threatening liver disease requires detecting hepatitis early.
